PALM BEACH (FL)
Palm Beach Post
June 13, 2018
By Jane Musgrave
Describing Rev. John Gallagher as a disgruntled priest who falsely accused church leaders of trying to cover up sex abuse by a visiting cleric, the Diocese of Palm Beach on Wednesday urged the Florida Supreme Court not to revive the defamation lawsuit Gallagher filed against the church.
An appeals court was right in May when it threw out the Gallagher’s lawsuit, ruling that the First Amendment prohibits secular courts from meddling in religious affairs, said a team of lawyers from Coral Gables and Washington, D.C., that represent the diocese.
Under what is known as the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, matters of clergy discipline are off-limits to secular courts, the West Palm Beach-based 4th District Court of Appeal ruled.
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