Arizona Supreme Court rules religious groups can decide when to report child abuse

The Arizona Supreme Court unanimously ruled Thursday that religious institutions, not the courts, are entitled to decide when to report confessions of child abuse.

Religious groups also get to decide who beyond the actual members of the "clergy" are exempt from reporting requirements, the justices concluded.

That means the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and two of its bishops do not have to stand trial for failing to tell authorities that a Bisbee man was sexually abusing his young children.

But the extensive opinion written by Justice John Lopez also creates a new binding precedent that, in turn, will affect all future cases where churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious institutions get to claim immunity based solely on their own interpretation of what their faith requires and not what some jury might decide.

"We may not substitute our interpretation of Church doctrine for the Church's reading of its own doctrine,'' Lopez wrote.

Attorney Lynne Cadigan represents the children of Paul Adams who were the victims of the unreported sexual abuse at the heart of this case. She said she intends to seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Cadigan said she believes the all seven justices got it wrong in saying that civil courts have to defer to what churches say are their rules.

"This gives all religions absolute immunity to keep child abuse secret,'' she said.

"This makes Arizona a very dangerous state for children,'' Cadigan continued. "We have made it more dangerous, less safe, and give churches complete immunity to hide and conceal sex offenders."