Clergy Accountability Report Child Secual Abuse

by blondie 4 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  blondie

  There a group is fighting in the legal area to make clergy accountable to report child sexual abuse cases https://www.morningstar.com/news/pr-newswire/20250127ph04780/clergy-accountability-coalition-urges-support-as-legislature-renews-battle-over-clergy-reporting-bill-sb-5375-amid-fierce-catholic-pushback "If passed, SB 5375 would align Washington with six other states—New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, and West Virginia—that mandate clergy to report knowledge of child abuse, including information disclosed during private religious rites like confession. Washington is one of only five states where clergy are not required to report child abuse under any circumstances." For the past three years, the Catholic Church and Catholic state lawmakers have fiercely opposed similar legislation, even as the Church remains under investigation by the Attorney General's Office for clergy abuse and institutional concealment. In 2024, the Archdiocese of Seattle refused to release documents related to clergy abuse, citing court-upheld exemptions under the Charitable Trust Act. The case is now on appeal. However, other religious organizations, including Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also rely on the exemption to shield themselves from accountability in reporting abuse.

  "Abuse thrives in silence," said Mitch Melin, a former member of Jehovah's Witnesses. "Washington's failure to protect its children with mandatory reporting laws is a betrayal of its most vulnerable. This hearing is a chance for every voice to demand justice and ensure no institution is above accountability when it comes to the safety of our children." About the Clergy Accountability Coalition: The Clergy Accountability Coalition is a diverse group of organizations and hundreds of individuals who have joined together to support this important legislation. Supporters include Father James Connell, a canon lawyer, Rabbi James Morel, the Catholic Accountability Project (CAP), Heal Our Church (HOC), The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA Global), and social service agencies like The Atlantic Street Center in Seattle. To learn more about HB1211 & SB5375 and current examples of Abuse, visit: www.catholicaccountabilityproject.org.
• 

  blondie

  In 2024, the Archdiocese of Seattle refused to release documents related to clergy abuse, citing court-upheld exemptions under the Charitable Trust Act. The case is now on appeal. However, other religious organizations, including Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also rely on the exemption to shield themselves from accountability in reporting abuse.

  "Abuse thrives in silence," said Mitch Melin, a former member of Jehovah's Witnesses. "Washington's failure to protect its children with mandatory reporting laws is a betrayal of its most vulnerable. This hearing is a chance for every voice to demand justice and ensure no institution is above accountability when it comes to the safety of our children.
• 

  Beth Sarim

  Sometimes when there is silence,,, yes,,,, it definitely is one of the worst things.
• 

  KerryKing

  The fact that this isn't the law in countries that profess to uphold Human Rights and the Rights of Children, just shows how this goes all the way to the top.

  Patriarchy at it's finest.
• 

  careful

  The whole legal issue still boils down, at least in America, to whether the desire to report CSA trumps the clergy-penitent privilege. While various R&F groups and certain politicians want change in this respect, the fact is that the current US Supreme Court, as well now as the current executive branch, will continue to support the old view that the clergy-penitent privilege, well-ensconced in American jurisprudence, should win out. All branches of the American federal government now are controlled by conservatives who love tradition and hate change in things like this. When you add the clergy pressure from conservative Protestantism (in bed with Trump), the RC church with its emphasis on the sacredness of confession, and Orthodox Jewish rabbis, a legal change in the clergy-penitent privilege vs. mandatory reporting does not look likely.

  Legal change outside of the US seems far more plausible.