Key facts
- Clergy in Arizona are not required to report child abuse learned during religious confession.
- The Arizona Supreme Court's ruling protects the "seal of the confessional."
- The decision stems from a lawsuit filed by children abused by their parents against the LDS Church.
- The court cited the First Amendment's religious freedom clause as a basis for its decision.
- The ruling overturned a previous state appeals court decision that favored the abuse survivors.
The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that clergy members are not obligated to report instances of child abuse if they learn of them through religious confession, a decision that upholds the "seal of the confessional." This unanimous ruling by the state's highest court concludes a protracted legal battle initiated by three children who were sexually abused by their parents and subsequently sued the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), also known as the Mormon Church, along with two bishops who had knowledge of the crimes but did not report them.
The case involved allegations that Paul Adams, who died in jail awaiting trial, confessed his crimes to a bishop in 2011 and discussed them at a disciplinary hearing led by another bishop the following year. Court filings and an Associated Press investigation indicated that the church's internal policy led to the information being kept confidential, with advice given not to contact law enforcement or child welfare officials.
In its decision, the LDS Church stated its condemnation of the abuse and its commitment to preventing it through safeguarding efforts. The court, in a 23-page ruling authored by Vice-Chief Justice John Lopez, determined that the First Amendment's religious freedom protections prevent courts from scrutinizing a clergy member's decision not to report abuse based on religious doctrine, provided there is no evidence of fraud or collusion for secular purposes.