Defrocked Episcopal priest sues church

NORRISTOWN, Pa., Oct. 20 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania lawsuit pitting a former Episcopal priest against his diocese may be the first U.S. case involving church discipline, experts say.

The Rev. David Moyer has brought a civil suit against the financially struggling Diocese of Pennsylvania, saying he was illegally defrocked because of his views opposing gay clergy, and is asking the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas in Norristown, Pa., for millions of dollars in damages, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Monday.

Moyer's attorney, John Lewis, told the newspaper the case appears to be the first trial in U.S. jurisprudence involving "the ecclesiastical discipline of a priest in a hierarchical church."

Church officials fought to block the trial, arguing that the First Amendment precludes civil courts from ruling on religious institutions' personnel matters. But Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Branca sided with Moyer, who alleges that diocese improperly denied him a church trial.

The dispute revolves around the issue of ordination of gay clergy. Moyer, 57, alleges he was removed from clergy because he vehemently opposed the idea, which the Episcopal Church allows.