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BizzyBee

Jehovah lets the individual states decide if the pedophiles should be dealt with by Caesar?

I don't know about Jehovah, but each state does decide who is to be designated a mandated reporter - whether teachers, medical, clergy, daycare, etc., or some combination. Clearly, JWs are most vulnerable in the states which require clergy to report any instances of child abuse that come to their knowledge.

erynw

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Sections/TVNews/Nightly%20News/2007/11-Nov/reportinglaws.pdf

From the Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect: Full-Text Excerpts of State Laws

This privilege, however, is not absolute. While clergy-penitent privilege is frequently recognized within the reporting laws, it is typically interpreted narrowly in the child abuse or neglect context. The circumstances under which it is allowed vary from State to State, and in some States it is denied altogether. For example, among the States that enumerate clergy as mandated reporters, New Hampshire and West Virginia deny the clergy penitent privilege in cases of child abuse or neglect. Three of the States that enumerate "any person" as a mandated reporter (North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Texas) also deny clergy-penitent privilege in child abuse cases.

Laws be damned. It's the children that matter.