AUSTIN—A district court ruling against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lubbock succeeded in uniting Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission and a committee of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention—as well as the national Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission—in a call for action by the Texas Supreme Court. The Texas Baptist and Southern Baptist entities joined a friend-of-the-court brief calling on the state’s Supreme Court to reverse the lower court ruling against Lubbock’s Catholic diocese. Defamation suit by deacon against diocese The case involves a defamation suit by Jesus Guerrero against the Lubbock diocese for publishing his name in a list of clergy who had been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor. The Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas rejected the diocese’s appeal to what is known as the “ecclesiastical abstention doctrine,” which protects the autonomy of religious organizations. As of May 7, the Texas Supreme court had yet to announce if it would review the appeals court decision. In their brief, the Texas Baptist and Southern Baptist entities said the appeals court ruling violated the religious free-exercise right of not only the diocese but Baptist churches and other religious organizations. Guerrero served […]
