Secrets that must not be kept
Clergy-penitent privilege and mandatory reporting exist in complex tension. But child welfare has to come first.
Century illustration / Source images: Getty
In 2010, an Arizona man named Paul Adams confessed to his LDS ward bishop, John Herrod, that he was sexually abusing his young daughter. Herrod called the church’s abuse helpline and spoke with attorney Merrill Nelson, who advised him not to report the abuse. Adams continued the abuse for years—and eventually began abusing another daughter too. Family counseling with Herrod didn’t stop the abuse, nor did Adams’s excommunication in 2013. Adams wasn’t caught until 2017, when police found videos of the abuse that he’d posted online. Three of his children are now suing Herrod, the bishop who succeeded him, and the LDS Church.
The lawsuit—which may be headed to the US Supreme Court—raises questions of religious freedom: Should Herrod and his successor have reported the abuse? And can they be compelled to testify about their knowledge of it? The balance between mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse and clergy-penitent privilege varies from state to state, but most states allow clergy some discretion. In Arizona, clergy-penitent privilege supersedes mandatory reporting if the abuse is disclosed in a pastoral context—and because the penitent is the one who holds the privilege, Nelson told Herrod that reporting Adams could open him up to a lawsuit. However, Arizona also provides legal immunity for anyone who reports child abuse in good faith. Such tension within the law puts clergy in a difficult and confusing position.
In the Catholic Church, the confessional seal is regarded as inviolable because of its sacramental nature, and a priest can be excommunicated for breaking it. There is no such doctrine in the LDS Church, but clergy-penitent confidentiality is the norm—and it comes from good pastoral impulses. Without the presumption of confidentiality, the reasoning goes, penitent believers may avoid confessing their worst sins for fear of being reported. This will hinder their ability to be counseled toward changing their behavior and seeking forgiveness. Many state statutes on clergy-penitent privilege name an intent to protect relationships between clergy and parishioners.
