ARCHDIOCESE OF MIAMI v. SAMA

Full title: THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MIAMI AND EDWARD A. McCARTHY, ETC., PETITIONER, v…

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District

Date published: Feb 16, 1988

519 So. 2d 28 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1988)

Opinion

No. 87-2307.

December 8, 1987. Rehearing Denied February 16, 1988.

Wood, Lucksinger Epstein and J. Michael Fitzgerald and Juan Carlos Enjamio, for petitioner.

Papy, Weissenborn Papy and Sheridan Weissenborn, for respondents.

Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and BASKIN and DANIEL S. PEARSON, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Courts "are prohibited from resolving church property disputes on the basis of religious doctrine," Galich v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago, 75 Ill. App.3d 538, 31 Ill.Dec. 370, 394 N.E.2d 572 (1979); see Graffam v. Wray, 437 A.2d 627, 633 (Me. 1981), when, as here, the underlying controversy concerns religious doctrine and only incidentally affects other matters. We therefore conclude that the petitioners have affirmatively demonstrated a lack of jurisdiction in the lower court. English v. McCrary, 348 So.2d 293 (Fla. 1977). We are certain that it will not be necessary to issue a formal judgment in prohibition.

Prohibition granted.