TX bill would shield churches that report sex abuse

“Southern Baptist pastors and leaders have initiated a Texas bill to allow nonprofits including churches to disclose credible but unproven sexual abuse allegations with no fear of civil liability.” - BPNews

Discussion

I was at first confused about the import here, and what it does is if you’re church A and you discipline a pastor or volunteer for suspected abuse behaviors, you can report that to other churches who might hire that person without fear of litigation if, and only if, there is no malice involved. Because of that last provision, I’m guessing that, especially as the major cost is not settlement but litigation in most cases, that this law is something of a nothingburger.

You want to report the offenses of a former pastor/volunteer to the next church? Wonderful—just make sure you’ve got your facts straight and that you don’t go further than the facts, and when you are compelled by God to report that person’s behavior to another church or employer, make sure that you’ve got the evidence there and your lawyer on speed dial.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.