Utah Legislature expands ability of clergy members to report child abuse

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. 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. However, the Catholic Diocese expressed concern that the bill could be a gateway to further changes requiring Catholic priests to report abuse learned through confession, which spokesperson Marie Mischel said would present them with “the untenable choice of breaking the law or being excommunicated.” Doug Anderson, spokesperson for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said church leaders do not oppose the policy but would not elaborate. Child abuse prevention advocates such as Rabbi Avremi Zippel, program director at Chabad Lubavitch of Utah and chair of the Utah Crime Victims Council, said clergy members often see the good in people and can be blinded by their own subjectivity when they hear reports of wrongdoing. "The ability for clergy to also have the ability to avail themselves of the protections of reporting, to kick those situations to an objective outsider, is a gift that so many of our clergy across the state approve of.” But some local lawyers, such as Steve Burton of the Utah Defense Attorneys Association, have said abusers often approach church leaders because they have no one else they can ask for help.