PHILADELPHIA - An Episcopal church in suburban Philadelphia is fighting to keep its priest and its property in a legal battle with the Pennsylvania diocese.
Attorneys for the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont say a civil courtroom is not the proper venue to mediate a religious dispute.
The diocese filed a petition in Montgomery County Orphans Court in February seeking to remove the Rev. David Moyer and take ownership of the property.
Moyer was defrocked in 2002 over a religious rift. Yet he has refused to leave the rectory, and Good Shepherd continues to pay his salary.
The diocese argues that Good Shepherd has effectively left the Episcopal flock, but church attorneys say in documents filed Thursday that no formal action has been taken.
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/pennsylvania/20090501_ap_pachurchfightstokeepdisputedproperty.html
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