A "Qualified Privilege" can save your church and staff from ill-advised remarks to members.

Nonprofit and Church Legal Trends - Free Edition - March April 2007 (free edition)

A “Qualified Privilege” can save your church and staff from ill-advised remarks to members. But be careful.

While a number of general defenses are available to defamation claims such as truth, statements made in the course of judicial proceedings, consent, and self-defense, statements made to church members who have a need to know about a matter of common interest to members are protected by a "qualified privilege," which means such remarks will not be defamatory unless they are made with malice. In this context, malice means that the person making the statements knew that they were false or made them with a reckless disregard as to their truth or falsity. In short, the first amendment limits, but does not eliminate, a church's liability for defamation. Of course, this qualified privilege will not apply if the statements are made to nonmembers.