Director of Evangelism's Retaliation Suit Dismissed Under Church Autonomy Rule

The Yakima (Washington) Herald Republic reports that yesterday a Washington state trial court judge dismissed a suit accusing the Catholic Diocese of Yakima of forcing Robert Fontana, Diocesan Director of Evangelism, to resign after he questioned the Diocese's application of a new national policy on clergy sexual misconduct. Fontana claimed that he was reprimanded for complaining that Bishop Carlos Sevilla permitted a priest to continue his religious duties even though the priest was being investigated for downloading photographs of nude boys from the Internet. The court held that it lacked jurisdiction over Fontana's claim because of the "ministerial exception". Holding that Fontana's duties should be considered "ministerial", the court said that "a church's right to be unfettered by the state in its choice and control of ministers cannot abide state intervention where the heart of the issue depends on religious justification."