American courts have a long tradition of non- intervention in Church related disputes. Going against this tradition, a Montgomery County court has been embroiled in a conflict of interests between a priest and a bishop. This particular lawsuit was filed by a priest against an Episcopal bishop who he claims, defrocked him fraudulently six years ago without a hearing before diocesan officials. Rev. David Moyer, rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, seeks unspecified damages for loss of employment and mental suffering from Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr.
This case is the first of its kind in America and could set a precedent allowing clergy in religious institutions to sue their superiors in a civil court as opposed to a church court.
The judge, Joseph Smyth, was not sure if the case belonged to the church court purview or the civil court purview. After much deliberation he decided he would continue to hear out the whole case. His decision came after Bennison’s attorney requested the judge to throw the case out.
Bennison suspended Moyer for six months in March 2002 threatening him with removal from priesthood if he did not comply. However, after the suspension and despite Moyer’s compliance, Bennison and the diocesan standing committee used a rarely invoked canon and declared that he had ‘abandoned the communion’ of the Episcopal Church following which he was removed without a trial.
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