State supreme court rules in case of two bishops who were silent about three children abused by Mormon parents
Clergy members in Arizona who learn of child abuse in the context of religious confession are not required to report it, the state’s supreme court has said in a ruling that protects what church leaders call the “seal of the confessional”.
The panel’s ruling ends a long-running case in which three children who were sexually abused by their parents sued the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), also known as the Mormon church, and two bishops who became aware of the crimes but remained silent.
The case has parallels in a short-lived 2025 law in Washington state that would have compelled clergy members there to report sexual abuse. That proposal was permanently withdrawn in October after legal action by the Catholic church.
In a statement, the LDS welcomed the unanimous ruling by the state supreme court on Thursday that exempts clergy members as “mandated reporters” if they learned of the abuse of minors in the confession booth or through other “confidential” methods.
What a travesty. It’s not surprising that a religion that advocates beating children (Proverbs 13:24 & 20:30) would not want to report parents who abuse children.
It’s beyond fucked up. Kids are let down by everybody in power. How come the pedos organise society and nobody stop them?
And they wonder why their congregation age averages 85.
Fucking cultists. What an utterly unhinged ruling.
Another win for religion! /s
Disgusting slimy fucks
Good thing I was smart enough to report my own abuse and people believed me. God forbid a kid try to say something and people ignore them. I’d be a lot more fucked up than I am if nobody listened to me or reported it.
There’s a difference between “are not required” and “are not allowed”. If a confession and crime is particularly heinous or serial, in the knowledge of the priest, the priest should have the moral discretion to report it if he thinks that’s the best decision for public safety.
But aren’t we kidding ourselves a little in expecting child molesters to confess their crimes?
Once again special privileges for religion.
Our society has prioritized a priest’s desire to remain part of the Catholic church over the very real torture of children. This doesn’t prevent a priest from going to heaven, just from being part of the church. As long as the priest repents at the end of his life, he’ll still go to heaven.
Now, where it gets tricky is if the priest doesn’t actually repent. Then he is choosing between his belief in a hypothetical god and his hypothetical eternal soul… and the very real torture of children. If he, again hypothetically, believes he did the right thing and doesn’t repent, then his soul will be damned… hypothetically.
If the only real lasting punishment for a priest is if they do not repent, then the people who support this KNOW that they SHOULD report it and that they would NOT repent doing it. They just don’t care.
Weird use of the Fifth Amendment.
The LDS Church is a huge source of Christofascist content online. They push all of the purity stuff and a lot of the Trad wife stuff is Mormons who don’t tell you what they are. They’re rich as hell and they want all the same regressive stuff as the rest of MAGA. Know your enemy.
