DALLAS (TX)
Dallas Morning News [Dallas TX]
September 15, 2026
By Isabella Volmert
Former pastor Robert Morris pleaded guilty to five counts of child sex abuse last year after Cindy Clemishire accused him of sexually abusing her as a child in the 1980s.
Cindy Clemishire, the woman whose accusations against former Gateway Church leader Robert Morris led to his guilty plea to five charges of child sex abuse last year, will ask the Texas Supreme Court to review her defamation lawsuit against the church and Morris.
Last month, the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas dismissed almost all of the claims in the lawsuit Clemishire first filed in 2025, citing religious liberty doctrine. Clemishire’s attorneys will ask the Texas Supreme Court to review the case in a filing Thursday, arguing that the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine does not give churches immunity from civil law that applies to other institutions.
“Religious liberty is one of our most fundamental freedoms. But religious liberty cannot mean religious immunity,” Jeff Leach, Clemishire’s attorney, said in a Tuesday news release. “Protecting a predator is not theology, and defaming his victim is not church doctrine.”
Leach is a Republican state representative from Collin County.
Related: Based on religious liberty doctrine, court rules in favor of Gateway Church in defamation case
In its August opinion, the Fifth Court of Appeals ruled that a Dallas County court should dismiss the case against Gateway, three of its elders and Morris’ wife within 30 days. The court also ruled that all claims against Morris but one should be dismissed.
“Because we find that real parties’ claims are inextricably intertwined with the church’s investigation of Morris’ misconduct, the doctrine deprives the trial court of jurisdiction,” the opinion said.
In a written statement, Morris’ attorney Bill Mateja said an appeal to the Supreme Court does not change anything.
“We’ve said from the start that this suit was an attempt to pull a church’s internal reckoning into a forum where the First Amendment doesn’t allow it, and the Court of Appeals confirmed that,” Mateja said.
A spokesperson for Gateway Church declined to comment Tuesday. Following the opinion, an attorney representing Gateway and the three elders said it vindicated Gateway’s “foundational first liberty” and that “we continue to pray for healing and peace for Cindy and her family.”
Morris pleaded guilty to five counts of child sex abuse charges in October and served six months of a suspended 10-year sentence. He was released from Oklahoma jail in March. Under his plea agreement, he was required to register as a sex offender for life and is serving the remainder of his sentence on probation.
The lawsuit centers on statements made in the days after Clemishire went public with her story in 2024 in an interview with the Wartburg Watch, a religious watchdog blog.
A statement from the church to its staff included a quote from Morris, when he said he had been involved in “inappropriate sexual behavior” with a “young lady” early in his ministry. Another statement from Gateway referred to the abuse as an “inappropriate relationship.” Gateway leaders later apologized to the congregation for describing Clemishire as a young lady, saying instead that she was a “12-year-old child.”
Clemishire has argued these statements downplayed and incorrectly characterized rape and child sex abuse.
Related: Woman who accused Gateway Church founder of sexual abuse says recovery has been ‘lifelong’
Clemishire and her father filed the lawsuit against Morris, his wife Deborah, the Robert Morris Evangelistic Association, Gateway Church and several current or former church elders and staff in June 2025.
Attorneys to challenge application of ecclesiastical abstention doctrine
The ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, grounded in the First Amendment, prevents courts from adjudicating the internal matters of religious organizations when invoked. Critics of the doctrine have said it improperly protects churches from consequences related to sex abuse.
In its ruling, the appeals court found Gateway’s investigation into Morris was “inherently ecclesiastical,” and therefore Clemishire’s claims would require the court intervening in ecclesiastical matters.
One claim against Morris remains standing, which is tied to statements he made in a May 2025 court filing in a separate case.
According to the news release, Clemishire and her attorneys will officially ask the Texas Supreme Court Thursday to review the defamation case in a court filing. Her team is arguing churches should not receive greater protections than secular institutions – such as schools or businesses – in cases of child sex abuse.
“Conduct that could result in civil accountability when committed by leaders of virtually any other institution could become insulated from judicial review when committed by leaders of a church,” the news release said.
Clemishire’s legal team will host a news conference Thursday morning outside of the court in Austin, the news release said.
In June, a federal court dismissed a different lawsuit against Morris and Gateway by former members of the church based on the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine. The lawsuit had accused Morris and the church of misusing money donated to the church through tithes.
In May, Gateway and Morris agreed to arbitrate their dispute over a multi-million dollar retirement package outside of court, dismissing an ongoing civil case.
Isabella Volmert reports on faith and religion for The Dallas Morning News. Previously, she covered state government and politics for the Associated Press in Indianapolis and Lansing, Mich. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.