“We hold that the First Amendment generally prohibits fact finders from inquiring into a clergy member’s application of his particular religious doctrine — absent fraud or collusion for secular purposes — in determining whether reporting should be withheld if ‘reasonable and necessary.’” - RNS
Failure to Report Abuse: Do You Know Your Reporting Laws?
“Mandatory reporting laws, how they’ve changed, and what falls under clergy-penitence.” - MinistryWatch
Grace Community Church accused of ‘aiding and abetting’ alleged child abuser: lawsuit
“Doe alleges that GCC leadership attempted to conceal Jung’s abusive behavior despite being legally required to report such abuse to authorities and told her to ‘submit’ to Jung’s authority as he continued to abuse her and their children.” - CPost
Is Everything 'Confession'? WA Ruling Exempting Clergy From Reporting Abuse Discussed During Confession Raises Questions of Evangelical Accountability
Boz Tchividjian: “Quite frankly… there’s no equivalent in the Protestant Church….The equivalent to the Sacrament of Confession in the Protestant world is me sitting in my office and confessing.” - MinistryWatch
This week in Christian history: Bob Jones University exonerated, missionary nurse martyred
“This week marks the anniversary of when Bob Jones University, a fundamentalist Christian academic institution based in South Carolina, was found not guilty of violating sex crime reporting laws [2015].” - CPost
“A church’s response to an allegation of abuse begins with a call to Child Protective Services.”
“Ministry leaders should recognize that after CPS has been notified, it is important to continue support to a victim and their caretaker by ensuring that the victim still feels welcomed by the church community.” - Baptist Press
Takeaways from The AP’s investigation into the Mormon church’s handling of sex abuse cases
“According to the church, all information about child sexual abuse passed from church members to their bishops is confidential under the clergy-penitent privilege, and all information passed from the Helpline to church attorneys is confidential under the attorney-client privilege.” - RNS
Must Pastors Report Abuse? Some States Aren’t Clear, But the Bible Is
“As a pediatrician-turned-pastor, I believe reporting suspected child harm is our civic and Christian duty.” - CToday
Should clergy be mandated reporters? New York’s CARE Act says yes
“This issue is at the heart the Child Abuse Reporting Expansion Act, a bill making its way through New York state Legislature that, if passed, would make clergy mandated reporters.” - RNS
Amid Abuse Scandals, Legal Challenges Test Clergy Reporting Exemptions
“Implications for church leaders loom as Montana reverses $35M judgment and other states continue tightening reporting laws.” - Christianity Today