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 That proposal was permanently withdrawn in October after legal action by the Catholic church.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.
This is just bleak. That paints most of the world as mentally ill, which in turn exempts them from contributing positively to society as a whole. It’s slapping a plaster on a huge issue with human society and calling it good enough. No! We need to find some way to cure this mass delusion.
I don’t care one iota if you think your fantasy world is real. In the real world, people within your group are devastating real people. If you need to be compelled to face reality, so be it.
And how well has this philosophy of yours worked historically? Your approach leads to wars of religion. Never learned about the 30 Years War in school? It tore Europe apart for decades and killed millions. We have religious freedom for a damn good reason.
Yeah I get it. We’re stuck forever being surrounded by adults who believe fairy stories. I know they get violent when confronted with reality and spoken plainly to. That doesn’t mean I have to like it or play along. Do I get any special religious treatment anywhere in the world? No, because I refuse to play along with the delusion.
Is this the reality we live in? Yes. Does that make it right? Nope.
And children and outcasts continue to suffer forever at the hands of the self-deluded “righteous.”
Sometimes you have to make decisions based not on pure morality, but based on the consequences. I agree that morally, priests shouldn’t get an exemption. But as a practical reality, forcing them to will do more harm than good.
I hate that they are not held to a high moral standard and the suffering they impose on others is considered acceptable.
People deserve better than “meh”