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 That proposal was permanently withdrawn in October after legal action by the Catholic church.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.
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.