Arizona court upholds clergy privilege in child abuse case
Source: AP
By MICHAEL REZENDES and JASON DEAREN 2 hours ago
The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can refuse to answer questions or turn over documents under a state law that exempts religious officials from having to report child sex abuse if they learn of the crime during a confessional setting.
The ruling was issued April 7 but not released to the public until Tuesday. A lawsuit filed by child sex abuse victims accuses the church, widely known as the Mormon church, two of its bishops, and other church members of conspiracy and negligence in not reporting church member Paul Adams for abusing his older daughter as early as 2010. This negligence, the lawsuit argues, allowed Adams to continuing abusing the girl for as many as seven years, a time in which he also abused the girls infant sister.
Lynne Cadigan, an attorney for the Adams children who filed the lawsuit, criticized the courts ruling.
Unfortunately, this ruling expands the clergy privilege beyond what the legislature intended by allowing churches to conceal crimes against children, she said.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-child-sex-abuse-e02ae4470a5a53cbeb9aa146ff2762ac
Diamond_Dog
(32,073 posts)Cause theyre part of a big church
Sickening.
Baitball Blogger
(46,758 posts)Lots wrong with that.
kimbutgar
(21,195 posts)I was thinking.
not fooled
(5,801 posts)[link:https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_Supreme_Court|]
All you need to know. LDS extremely influential in this cesspool. I hope the new Dem governor can change that.
czarjak
(11,296 posts)TheBlackAdder
(28,216 posts)dchill
(38,539 posts)IMO.
MayReasonRule
(1,461 posts)No exceptions.
whathehell
(29,094 posts)ExWhoDoesntCare
(4,741 posts)Every religion has demonstrated a willingness to protect pedophiles in their midst, rather than the children raped therein.
Need anything else explained about this one?
whathehell
(29,094 posts)that have done the same?...Penn State with boys?..Michigan State U doctor abusing girls WITH the knowledge of the University President?
Studies showing that religious clergy are NO more likely to abuse children than men in OTHER professions, including teachers who are 100 times MORE likely to abuse than Catholic priests?
https://go2tutors.com/teachers-more-likely-abuse-kids/#:~:text=of%20Ed%2C%20public%20school%20teachers,a%20method%20of%20recruiting%20victims.
https://www.newsweek.com/priests-commit-no-more-abuse-other-males-70625#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16813481940240&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Fpriests-commit-no-more-abuse-other-males-70625
Permanut
(5,642 posts)Seems that clergy would not conduct, approve of or cover up any of these horrible crimes
whathehell
(29,094 posts)Sorry if they don't fit a particular narrative.
2live is 2fly
(336 posts)case were to make it to conservative and catholic majority SCOTUS!
2live is 2fly
(336 posts)thats what they're doing.
Grins
(7,231 posts)I thought only Catholics had that.
whathehell
(29,094 posts)but they do "confess" in counseling sessions.
raising2moredems
(641 posts)but would not surprise me if the perverts appealed to SCOTUS. But not sure if SCOTUS considers LDS a "religion". Would be an interesting case to watch.
And every article I read that notes how church attendance is dropping makes me feel really good. May I live long enough to see the end of organized religion.
not fooled
(5,801 posts)Oh wait, no.
Farmer-Rick
(10,212 posts)Why do they need these kinds of legal protections if they were doing the moral and ethical thing.
An outdated institution ruining the lives of millions.
keithbvadu2
(36,920 posts)All it takes is a couple of weeks of prayer and 'God has forgiven me.'