Originally posted by: Moonbeam
What a nice big blank page.
It should link to CBS Channel 11 in Dallas, here's the content of the article -
DALLAS A legal battle is being fought in court over a Dallas church's right to expose an extra-marital affair.
The lawsuit stems from an act of adultery allegedly committed by a member of Watermark Community Church, in Dallas.
Part of the suit has been sealed including the name of the accused. The man is simply known as John Doe.
According to Watermark's pastor the church has a moral obligation to intervene.
?No, we're not overreacting. Whenever someone is practicing behavior that is detrimental to themselves, to their testimony as a follower of Christ, it's damaging to other people and hurts their own ability to be a witness to Christ. I don't think you can overreact,? said Todd Wagner.
Pastor Wagner says the bible calls for several steps. In this case Wagner says he had a one on one discussion with John Doe. After that, several other members of the church stepped in.
According to Wagner both attempts failed to stop the affair. ?And so sometimes we put things in writing to our little community so that we can all agree that we have processed this well, we've thought threw this through, and this is the right way to love this person.?
In other words, Watermark attempted to send a letter to its church members informing them that John Doe refused to end his affair.
That action was met with resistance and a temporary restraining order was placed on the letter. The church appealed and won; now John Doe is appealing that ruling while the letter waits in limbo.
The attorney for John Doe declined an on-camera interview but tells CBS 11 News that his client made his disclosure in confidence similar to a confession to a priest.
The attorney says he is disappointed that the church wants to publicize something that is clearly confidential. Attorneys representing Watermark say the case comes down to the separation of church and state.
?Under the constitution, and it's been this way since our founding, the government is prohibited from getting involved into the internal operations of the church,? said Hiram Sasser, Liberty Legal Institute.
In a similar case the Texas Supreme Court agreed to hear oral arguments involving another local church. In that situation a woman sued a Fort Worth church after the minister distributed an open letter discussing her alleged affair.
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