crimes against children are indeed very different than other offense you listed.
We know all about that, no kidding. No need to explain what is axiomatic. But the Courts treat all crimes just the same: Felony, Misdemeanor, Violation. Could be Child abuse or Drug trafficking or another offense. Punishment is the same too: Jail. My point that you fail to see is that if church privacy on child abuse communications is defeated, then logically, all confidentiality falls apart. Also, as despicable as child sexual abuse is, other crimes are just as despicable too, to the victim, and should get no special treatment, less that how child abuse is treated by the church and by the Courts. You may feel that murder, drug trafficking, robbery, Fraud, etc.,should be held confidential by the church but victims of those crimes disagree and want the same justice applied to them too.
Why should a lawyer be able to keep child abuse communications with his client private and defend a guilty client only to have him set a child abuser free upon society, on the other hand, a child abuser cannot go to a minister for spiritual help without having to report him to the authorities. In both instances, a guilty child abuser goes free.
Understood that children need to be protected specially, you are not enlightening me, but as I have posted many times, as it relates to the church, that requires new Federal legislation unified across state lines, same as abortion is legal all over the US, no conflict of laws; if someone even looks like an abuser, the church must report him. And that's that. No more legal excuses. Now, not as it relates to the church, but child sexual abuse as a problem in society, is here to stay and will only get worse. Nothing can be done about incest and nothing can be done about incompetent or very trusting parents handing over their precious kids to wolves. And nothing legally can be done to get pedophiles to stop having sexual feeling towards children until they catch one. Parents need to protect their kids and if a child is born to sick or abusive parents he is out of luck.
Also, is legislation protecting kids when a 14yo or younger can marry someone who is thirty or 69? Where is the outrage?
