State supreme court rules in case of two bishops who were silent about three children abused by Mormon parents

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 That proposal was permanently withdrawn in October after legal action by the Catholic church.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

  • Paularhion@lemmy.world
    271·
    3 days ago

    It’s beyond fucked up. Kids are let down by everybody in power. How come the pedos organise society and nobody stop them?

    • OwOarchist@pawb.socialEnglish
      141·
      3 days ago

      Capitalism (and most other organized hierarchical power structures) favor and reward sociopathy. Sociopaths might not be any more likely to have pedophilic inclinations than anybody else, but they are more likely to act on those inclinations if they have them, while others – who have functioning empathy – are more likely to realize it’s wrong and resist those urges if they have them.

      The disorders that make someone more likely to act on pedophilic impulses are the same disorders that help someone climb the hierarchy and claim dominance.

      And the empathy and human decency that holds most people back from the ruthless pursuit of power are the same factors that can make someone with pedophilic attraction less likely to act on that attraction.

      That’s why we’re ruled by pedophiles – not just now, but for pretty much all of recorded history.