Hey all :)
Is anyone versed in the ins and outs of clery-penitent privilege? If there are any boundaries, and if so what they are? Does it apply solely to the initial elder(s) who are told confidential information, or does it apply to any elder that is aware of a certain wrongdoing?
Clergy-Penitent Privilege: Boundaries?
by feenx 3 Replies latest jw friends
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feenx
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dawg
I know what got them screwed in the recent child molestation cases... you can't claim that privliedge when three men are present, you can't claim that priviledge when records are sent to total strangers... it can't be claimed that you have secrets between a clergy man and his parish member when so many people know.
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deaconbluez
This wouldn't apply to Jehovah's Witnesses, because they have no clergy and hence are totally unlike Christendom’s rulers who get special reverence and lord it over their brothers.
That is...until when they are asked why they don’t report criminal charges to the police. Then they claim it is because it's a perversion of the clergy/laity relationship. -
jwfacts
There was discussion on this about 6 months ago. The WTS lost there request to withhold information about child abuse, with the court ruling clery-penitent privilege did not apply to elders. If you are unable to locate it Barbara Harrisons CD "A religion in crisis" contains the legal documentation.