"Church elders are not legally responsible to provide physical protection for children of congregants."
I saw this phrase on an earlier post. I don't wish to comment on many of the posts by its author which seem to be US-centered with talk of 'first amendments' and 'suing'. I have no knowledge of those areas.
In the rest of the world, that phrase is, to put it simply, bollocks. Organisations and institutions which assume responsibility for people, especially children, have a duty of care towards them.
That is the whole point of the ARC, and the UK investigation, and the Charity Commission investigation.