Defrocked Priest Can't Keep Montgomery County Parish: Judge

A judge has denied a defrocked Episcopal priest's attempt to maintain control of his suburban Philadelphia parish.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports a Montgomery County judge last week ruled David Moyer must vacate the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont after a long-running dispute with an Episcopal Church he decried as too liberal.

Moyer was defrocked in 2002 after agreeing to become a bishop in a small, conservative Anglican denomination. He continued to preach and say Mass at Good Shepherd with the support of its board.

Moyer tells the Inquirer he hopes to become a Roman Catholic priest by petitioning the Vatican for approval for the priesthood, despite being married.

Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 approved a system allowing disaffected Anglicans to convert and retain their liturgical heritage.