For the first time, a female chaplain was appointed by a Catholic university. The university president assured the nun her removal could only be based upon performance - never gender. The president then resigned because of an affair with a female subordinate. The new president, known to oppose powerful women in the church, restructured the university. The new chain of command removed all the woman’s authority. She sued for gender discrimination. The church argued the first amendment prevents a law suit because it would inquire into religious doctrine. A Federal Appeals Court upheld her right to sue because the church had no conceivable religious reason for her demotion.