UPC Pastor Convicted of Slander in Pulpit!

[MissBrattified]

I agree with pel--leave the rest of the family out of this. There is absolutely no reason to associate them with this thread or news report. And that includes the new Mrs.

I've seen quite a few relationships over the years dissolve, and in several cases one or both spouses remarried very quickly. In fact, I believe I read a statistic one time that stated men are more likely to remarry quickly after a divorce or becoming a widower.

The implication that the pastor's daughter and the husband had an inappropriate relationship prior to the divorce is completely uncalled for, IMO.

Bottom line: The wife acted inappropriately, IF she was at the pool in a bikini with a friend's husband, especially if the friend wasn't also present. Even if the friend was present, there could still be some valid points raised regarding her behavior. Obviously, that simple act doesn't constitute fornication or adultery. However, to be fair, the article stated it was "one of the reasons" the pastor gave. I would personally like to know the other reasons.

Also, the pastor is guilty, mostly, of being WAY too vague. He addressed the whole issue of fornication, and went into a large definition, linked it to adultery, and then failed to state *which* act AD was guilty of. That is seriously bad judgment on his part, and it's basically why she won the case. Since he didn't specify which act she was guilty of, he effectively accused her of all of them in the eyes of the court. I'm thinking that he felt he needed to, since it was his daughter that wanted to date the newly divorced husband. Interesting that he didn't make this slanderous statement until well after the divorce was final.

Although I don't think we should sue one another over issues like this, I think the lawsuit was justified. Hopefully he'll try to be more prudent the next time he encounters this sort of situation. If the woman was guilty of immodesty or bad judgment, that could be addressed. To turn it into full-fledged sexual immorality and deviance is beyond the pale. Even if it was suspected, without evidence, you simply can't pursue the matter.


By the way, it was 7 months from the date of the divorce to the date of the new marriage. 3 months after the divorce, the pastor made the statement that the wife had committed some type of fornication and then said that his daughter and the ex were going to be romantically involved.

"According to the lawsuit, Fogarty made a statement about Driver in front of the congregation during a Tuesday night service July 25, 2006, before announcing that his daughter, Carrie Fogarty, and Driver’s ex-husband, James Driver, “were going to be romantically involved.” Carrie Fogarty and James Driver later married in November 2006, the lawsuit stated. Angela and James Driver had divorced in April 2006."