SANTA FE, N.M. — A state District Court judge has thrown out a lawsuit against a Roman Catholic priest over his remarks at a former Chama councilman's funeral.

Judge Stephen Pfeffer dismissed the lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and the Rev. Scott Mansfield, ruling Jan. 23 that no court should be in a position to determine church doctrine.

"For thousands of years, churches have been making judgments against people," the judge said. "Dante's Inferno has been talking about sending people to hell for many a year. People aren't shocked by it."

Ben Martinez's family took the priest to court for allegedly condemning Martinez to hell at his own funeral in June 2002.

The lawsuit suggested Mansfield was upset that Martinez had not been to church in the last year of his life, even though he had been too ill to attend Mass.

"It's sad that a priest can say whatever he wants," the councilman's daughter-in-law, Joanne Martinez, said on Jan. 23. "There will come a day when he is judged by the true judge."

Mansfield and the archdiocese have denied he made such statements, acknowledging only that he used scriptural passages, including the Book of Revelation, during his talk.

Mansfield declined comment after the dismissal.

"We are pleased with the judge's decision," said his attorney, Ruth Pregenzer. She said the court lacked jurisdiction in the matter.

The lawsuit alleged the priest said God vomited people like Martinez into hell and that Martinez had been a Catholic in name only.

The lawsuit's allegations included intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation and negligent supervision. It sought a jury trial and requested punitive and compensatory damages against the archdiocese and Mansfield.

Martinez, who was 80 when he died, had been suffering from cancer.

The family's attorney, Kathleen Kentish Lucero, argued the priest should have been held responsible for the harm he caused the family with his talk. She also insisted his actions should not be cloaked by the First Amendment.

"We can't hide behind the separation of church and state," Lucero said.

However, Pregenzer said the First Amendment prevented the court from analyzing whether Mansfield's statements were secular or religiously based and also from delving into matters of religious doctrine and faith.

"The court would have had to determine whether Ben Martinez was a sinner in order to decide the case," she said.

Pfeffer said the case is a "classic example of the constitutional privilege of separation of church and state."