If passed, this Utah bill would require clergy to report confessions of child abuse, neglect

Stock image | Photo by KatarzynaBialasiewics/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Child abuse exacts enormous costs on communities across Utah, and one lawmaker hopes to improve the state’s mandatory abuse reporting laws by requiring all clergy members to adhere to the same reporting requirements that apply to everyone else.

Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City | Profile photo courtesy Utah House of Representatives, St. George News

The child abuse reporting amendments bill, officially designated HB 115 in the 2023 Utah Legislature and sponsored by Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City,  was introduced Jan. 17, and if passed, would require clergy in a confessional situation to be mandatory reporters of abuse and neglect. And failure to do so could result in criminal charges.

Currently, only six states in the United States have laws requiring clergy to report child abuse and neglect. Those states include New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas and West Virginia. If Romero’s bill passes, Utah could become the seventh.

This bill asks that clergy follow similar guidelines of other professions, including therapists, teachers and doctors, in reporting confessed abuse and neglect of a child, Romero said in a 2020 interview when she introduced a similar bill.

Kristy Pike, director of the Washington County Children’s Justice Center, told St. George News that ultimately, “it’s everyone’s job to protect our children,” and better reporting would help more children get the timely help they need and mitigate some of the long-term effects of trauma. While Pike said she couldn’t comment specifically on the bill, she said that increased reporting and early intervention are crucial for helping children heal from abuse and neglect.

“We can only help these children if we know there’s a problem,” she added.

As it stands now, Utah law “requires any person who has reason to believe that a child has been subjected to abuse, or neglect to immediately notify the nearest office of Child and Family Services, a peace officer, or a law enforcement agency.”

The current law exempts members of the clergy as long as the confession was directly made to a clergy member acting in a ministerial capacity without the consent of the confessor and one who is bound by a canon law, church doctrine or practice to “maintain the confidentiality of that confession.”

When a clergy member or priest receives information about abuse or neglect from any source other than the confession of the perpetrator, however, they are required to report the abuse regardless of whether they have received the same information from the penitent during a confession.

The premise behind privileged communications is based on the First Amendment protections of religious practice versus the interest of the state, which has existed for centuries and highlights the importance of privacy and trust in establishing some relationships. It further asserts that these elements can only be fostered under the premise that shared communication between parties will remain private, such as communications between spouses, clients and attorneys, counselors, therapists and physicians, and clergy and confessor.

Utah is one of 33 states wherein clergy are exempt from any mandatory reporting law if the disclosure is deemed to be privileged information, according to Findlaw.

Legal researchers have found that clergy members have sought blanket protections in cases of child abuse, covering not only oral confessions but also documents and other evidence. And ministers often are faced with deciding between the privacy and spiritual well-being of the penitent parishioner or protecting the safety and emotional well-being of a child.

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken a position on this by recognizing that the “peculiar vulnerability” of the child “may curtail” the protected rights of the adult.

Opponents of the bill include the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City, wherein Bishop Oscar A. Solis released a “Call to Action” asking all Utah Catholics to contact their legislators to ask that they oppose this bill and two others that would require priests to report any abuse that is disclosed during a confessional.

Solis said in the statement that, if passed, the bill would “violate the Seal of the Confessional if, during the Sacrament of Penance, a penitent confesses to sexually abusing a child.” He added that while child sexual abuse must be prevented, there is no evidence to suggest the legislation will further that aim.

“What the proposed legislation would do, however, is violate our free exercise of religion,” he added.

The question of the clergy-client privilege was also called into question when a 2021 case went to the Arizona Court of Appeals involving the sexual abuse of three children that went on for years despite the fact that the offender, who was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, confessed the abuse to his bishop four years before his arrest, according to an Associated Press story published in September.

The church’s position was that the information was legally withheld about the abuse “under the state’s clergy-penitent privilege.” In Arizona, where the case was filed, the law generally requires clergy members to report child neglect and sexual abuse but allows them to withhold information obtained during a spiritual confession.

As of Tuesday, Romero’s bill has been introduced to the House Rules Committee.

Those who have witnessed or been made aware of child abuse or neglect can call their local law enforcement agencies or the Utah Division of Child and Family Services at 1-855-323-3237. Additional resources regarding child abuse and reporting can be found at the Washington County Children’s Justice Center. 


Check out all of St. George News’ coverage of the 2023 Utah Legislature here.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

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