HARRISBURG – After the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania dismissed a petition from a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses nearly two years ago, which argued the confidentiality of their confessions shielded them from being mandatory reporters of child abuse, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania overruled their colleagues and decided the Commonwealth Court must re-examine the action.
In a 24-page memorandum opinion authored by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Debra Todd and handed down Feb. 13, the Court found that their Commonwealth Court contemporaries violated the Coordinate Jurisdiction Rule – which states “judges of coordinate jurisdiction sitting in the same case should not overrule each other’s decisions” – by its initial pair of separate findings that Ivy Hill Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses did not have proper standing against the Commonwealth’s Department of Human Services, and that a grant of declaratory relief would not terminate the legal controversy.
Todd was joined in the opinion by Supreme Court of Pennsylvania justices Christine Donohue, Kevin M. Dougherty, David N. Wecht and Sallie Updyke Mundy. Justices P. Kevin Brobson and Daniel McCaffery did not participate in the consideration or decision of this matter.
“Appellant is a congregation of approximately 140 individuals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who follow the tenets of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religion. Every Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation is led by a body of elders, which consists of a group of five to seven volunteers. The elders are authorized to hear and respond to a congregant’s confession of sin, and, under their beliefs, are obliged to maintain the confidentiality of confessions. According to appellant, its elders may receive confessions involving child abuse, which would implicate the mandatory reporting requirements of the Child Protective Services Law (CPSL),” Todd said.
“Specifically, the CPSL identifies certain individuals who are deemed to be ‘mandated reporters.’ Mandated reporters are required to make a report of suspected child abuse to the Commonwealth’s Department of Human Services if they have ‘reasonable cause’ to suspect that a child has been a victim of abuse. In addition to doctors and school employees, the list of mandated reporters includes ‘a clergyman, priest, rabbi, minister, Christian Science practitioner, religious healer or spiritual leader of any regularly established church or other religious organization.’ Under Section 6319 of the CPSL, mandated reporters who fail to report a case of suspected child abuse are subject to criminal penalties.” Read More