Rose traveled to the secular civil court, where she pleaded her case herself.

And, the diocese's lawyers wrote, it is not for secular courts to determine a church's obligations to its members.

Divorce proceedings take place in a secular court, rather than before a religious official.

Where blood was shed, the secular courts of the land came more and more to take an interest.

The priest was tried in the secular courts despite Papal objections.

They were then handed over to the secular court and sentenced to death.

"The secular courts don't have any authority over us," he said.

At the time a secular court considers the validity of this marriage, there are already multiple spouses.

It was the first time ever that a cardinal had appeared before a secular court in Belgium.

The truth is that no secular court has the authority or the ability to rule on ecclesiastical disputes.