http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/07/05/usat-sexlaws.htm
States add clergy to sex-abuse laws
By Fred Bayles, USA TODAY
A growing number of state legislatures are responding to the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church by changing laws to make it a crime when church officials don't report allegations of sexual abuse of minors.
Since January, four states Massachusetts, Illinois, Missouri and Colorado have passed laws that add clergy to the list of professions specifically required to report abuse to law enforcement authorities. Eleven others already had listed clergy, while 18 had required everyone to report sexual abuse. Bills are moving forward in several states, and more legislatures are expected to take up the subject when they convene this fall or next year.
"The scandal is so far-reaching it was important to make a stand," says state Rep. Rosemary Mulligan, a sponsor of Illinois' new legislation. "We have to put in safeguards for the welfare of children."
All states have some form of mandatory reporting laws for hospital workers, teachers and other professionals who come in contact with children. Often they were established to provide a broad web of surveillance designed to spot signs of abuse.
The new laws are more a response to accusations that Catholic Church officials across the nation have covered up abuse by priests. An estimated 250 priests nationwide have resigned or been suspended since January, when the conviction of a notorious pedophile priest in Boston drew national attention.
Many states with reporting laws offer some form of exemption for clergy. Catholic priests are prohibited by church law from revealing information learned in confessions, and other clergy often have confidentiality rules for pastoral counseling.
Much of the new legislation has faced little opposition. The Massachusetts bill passed in April after Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law said the Church would drop its long-standing opposition. Law is a defendant in a number of lawsuits that accuse him of covering up or ignoring sexual abuse of minors by several priests over many years.
But there has been opposition by clergy in Connecticut and Minnesota, who say the laws could infringe on religious freedoms. John Garvey, dean of the Boston College Law School, says the legislative efforts are understandable given public concern over the issue. "The issue has shown we need more reporting and enforcement," he says.