Federal judge dismisses lawsuit over gay Episcopal priest battle
Published August 22 2006

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The Episcopal bishop of Connecticut may not be sued over his actions in a struggle over the role of gays in the church, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven dismissed a legal challenge against Bishop Andrew D. Smith, leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.

"Whether Bishop Smith acted contrary to, or outside of, the diocese's own rules is a question of canon law, not a question of constitutionality of the challenged Connecticut statutes," Arterton wrote in the ruling Monday. "A declaration of unconstitutionality by the court would not redress the plaintiffs' actual grievances or their theological disputes" with Smith, she ruled. the rest


The Federal Court's Decision (Connecticut Six)