Utah Legislature expands ability of clergy members to report child abuse

[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnSALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah faith leaders who learn about ongoing child abuse from a perpetrator during a religious confession will be able to alert police without fear of legal ramifications under a bill that received final legislative approval Thursday in the state Senate.The measure extends to clergy members the same legal protections that exist for mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect, such as doctors, teachers or therapists. It passed the Senate in a 26-0 vote after receiving similarly unanimous approval in the House earlier this month. It now heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Spencer Cox.
State law in Utah, where the vast majority of lawmakers belong to the locally headquartered Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, exempts clergy of all denominations from a requirement to report child abuse if they learn about the crime in a confessional setting. Certain communications to clergy are considered privileged under the law, meaning neither the clergy member nor the person who confessed can be forced to testify in court about the contents of the conversation.
While the bill does not remove the legal loophole known as clergy-penitent privilege, Rep. Anthony Loubet said it provides new protections that could incentivize clergy members to come forwa …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]