Three judge panel says claim against PC(USA) is a matter of church policy
by Gregg Brekke | Presbyterian News Service
The Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort. (Photo via WikiMedia/Daderot)
LOUISVILLE – A July 28, 2017 ruling by the Commonwealth of Kentucky Court of Appeals affirms the ruling of the Jefferson County Circuit Court that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) dismissal of former employee Roger Dermody is a matter “internal doctrinal affairs” and not subject to state interference.
Citing the ecclesiastical-abstention doctrine and principles of ministerial exception in its ruling on the appeal, a three judge panel summarized, “religious institutions are free to set forth policies that align with their respective mission,” adding, “[a]ny further assessment of Dermody’s defamation claim other than that we have undertaken here would constitute ‘government interference with an internal church decision that affects the faith and mission of the church itself.’”
Dermody is one of four PC(USA) employees placed on paid administrative leave Nov. 14, 2014, while an independent investigation was conducted regarding the establishment of an unauthorized nonprofit corporation, the Presbyterian Centers for New Church Innovations, Inc. (PCNCI). An announcement was made June 1, 2015, that the four were no longer employed by the Presbyterian Mission Agency.
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