Story thread · 3 reports / 3 sources

Court rules in favor of Gateway Church, citing religious liberty in defamation case

nbcdfw.com · 7h · first reportShare

The Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas ruled in favor of Gateway Church in a defamation case involving the church, its elders and former pastor Robert Morris. The suit was brought by Cindy Clemshire , who accused Morris of sexually abusing her. Morris pleaded guilty to sexual abuse charges and was jailed before being released in March 2026 . Clemshire filed the defamation suit in response to comments made after she went public with her accusations against Morris in 2024. In its ruling, the appeals court concluded that claims stemming from Gateway Church’s investigation and related communications should be dismissed under the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine, which limits courts from interfering in certain internal religious matters. In a separate opinion involving Robert Morris and his wife, Deborah Morris, the court wrote: “We conditionally grant the petition as to all claims asserted against Deborah Morris and all claims asserted against Robert Morris except those arising from the Ma