Religious groups voice support for Lubbock diocese in defamation suit

Religious groups are decrying a Texas appellate court ruling that allows a former deacon to sue the Catholic diocese in Lubbock saying the decision could infringe upon religious liberty protected by the First Amendment.

The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, The Baptist General Convention of Texas, The Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty, and the Texas Legislature have filed amicus curiae briefs in the Texas Supreme Court supporting the Catholic Diocese of Lubbock in its quest to dismiss a former deacon's defamation lawsuit.

The briefs are in response to the January 2019 defamation lawsuit filed in the 237th District Court by Jesus Guerrero, a former deacon at Our Lady of Grace, after the Lubbock Catholic Diocese included him in a list of five clergymen deemed to have a credible allegation of sexual abuse against minors.

Along with posting the list online, the Catholic diocese issued a news release to local news media, including the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, that stated the decision to release the names was part of an ongoing effort to protect children from sexual abuse.

Rev. Robert Coerver, Bishop of Lubbock, was quoted in the release saying, "the release of these names—which is occurring in all the dioceses of Texas—was a good-faith effort on the part of the Bishops of Texas to increase transparency and help to restore some confidence among the ranks of the faithful, that the administrations of our dioceses are serious about ending the cycle of abuse in the Church and in society at large, which has been allowed to exist for decades.”

However, Guerrero objected to his inclusion in the list, denying that he was ever accused of sexually abusing a child.

In April of that year, the diocese revised the list, clarifying that there was a credible allegation made against Guerrero of sexually abusing a woman with mental and emotional illnesses, which under canon law, falls under the the term minor.

Guerrero filed his defamation lawsuit seeking $1 million in damages. His attorney, Nick Olguin, also argued that the accusation against his client didn't meet the church's standard of credible accusations.

He said the church’s criteria for a credible allegation involves either an admission of the abuse, a conviction in a court of law, or a testimony from a credible witness who saw the abuse happen.

"All three of those things never happened,“ he said. "So I don't know how they deem it to be credible."

The diocese filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that it was protected by the Ecclesiastical Abstention Doctrine under the First Amendment. The doctrine states that secular courts lack jurisdiction over religious matters such as theology, theological controversy, church discipline, ecclesiastical government, and compliance with church moral doctrine.

However, the judge in the 237th District Court denied the motion, and the diocese appealed to the Seventh Court of Appeals in Amarillo.

The justices there upheld the lower court's ruling, saying the diocese lost its ecclesiastical protection when it reached out to the secular media to circulate the list through the news release and interviews.

Typically, communications made within the church that are meant for congregants are protected. However, the church made the communication open to the public by reaching out to the secular media and posting the list on the internet.

"Canon law is not in play," the justices wrote in their opinion. "What is in play is how a person of ordinary intelligence would perceive the accusation that Guerrero sexually abused a 'minor' when the church accompanied the word with references to abuse involving 'children' and the safety of children."

The justices also noted statements in the church's news release that said the subject of sexual abuse was a societal issue. Thus, the terms minor and the way the church determines sexual abuse becomes matters that civil courts can decide.

"The Diocese ... placed the controversy in the realm of Caesar or the secular world by opting to leave the confines of the church," the opinion states. "Thus, the secular court in which Guerrero sued is not barred from adjudicating the matter."

The diocese filed a motion of review in the Texas Supreme Court, which has asked for briefs from both parties.

While waiting for the state's highest court on civil matters to grant the motion, the amicus briefs were filed.

The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops argued that the ruling infringes on the church's authority over their clergy and how it communicates its decisions to its members.

“Allowed to stand, the District Court and Court of Appeals’ decisions will harm Texas religious leaders’ governance authority over their clergy and chill the method of how church governance decisions regarding clergy are communicated to their respective members,” the brief states.

The Jewish Coalition argued that the rulings will impinge on the rights of minority religions.

"...There is a high potential a secular court would misunderstand and misapply Jewish law, and in any event, the government must not get involved in doctrinal disputes regardless of the outcome," their brief states.

The brief from the Texas Legislature, which names 29 state representatives, and five state senators, argued that the appellate court's ruling clashes with the state's policy requiring churches to report any acts of abuse.

One group, CHILD USA, a national nonprofit think tank working to end child abuse and neglect in the U.S., filed an amicus brief supporting Guerrero's case to limit a church’s immunity.

The groups argues that reversing the appellate court's ruling would broaden a church's immunity and could could allow an abuser within the church the "freewheeling authority to defame" a victim in order to silence them.

"If abusers can defame without consequence, they will no doubt exploit that power to conceal their misconduct," the brief states "The abuser could threaten to spread lies— about a victim or the victim’s family members—to prevent disclosure. Or the abuser could defame the victim after disclosure to discredit him."

Olguin said the attention the case has garnered was unexpected.

"I didn't think this many people were going to be involved in it, you know?" he said.

Olguin said the amicus briefs supporting the diocese are missing the point of Guerrero's lawsuit.

"If you're going to talk about somebody and call them a child molester in the news media, you better be right or you're going to be held accountable," he said.

Ryan Price, who is also representing Guerrero in the lawsuit, said the religious groups decrying the appellate court's decision are worried that the ruling would erode the immunity religious institutions have enjoyed for years.

"They're all concerned because, basically, churches operate with impunity," he said. "And so they can do whatever they want, say whatever they want within their church, short of just beating somebody, I mean, they can pretty well just get away with anything within the church, cause the courts don't have jurisdiction. And so, this is going to whittle away at that a little bit."

The diocese of Lubbock is represented by Washington, D.C.-based Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

The Supreme Court hasn't issued a ruling on the diocese's petition for review. However, Will Haun, a lawyer with Becket, said he takes as a good sign a recent request for briefs by the Supreme Court.

Haun said that resolving Guerrero's defamation case requires a court to sort out the elements of the lawsuit, which includes the disciplinary actions against Guerrero, the Catholic church's definitions of the terms "minor" and the church's determination of a credible accusation of "sexual abuse," all of which are protected by the First Amendment.

"There's no way to resolve those questions without violating well-established religious freedom principles," Haun said.

The ruling could also affect similar cases filed against the church since 2002, when the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops established a charter requiring transparent communication with the community about sexual abuse by clergy of minors, as defined by canon, by clergy, and defines minor in accordance with canon law.

"There are other cases in Texas, out of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, that are pending before the court of appeals there that involve a list similar to this one," he said. "There are cases throughout the country that this kind of issue has come up."