Lawyers are asking the Arizona Supreme Court to revisit its recent ruling that allows religious institutions to refrain from disclosing reports of child abuse revealed in spiritual confessions.
The attorneys representing two children whose abuser confessed to a clergy member are hoping to convince the justices they were wrong in holding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints immune from liability over what its bishops and others knew.
Lynne Cadigan said she and co-counsel John Trebon are not arguing that clerics have to disclose everything they hear in confession. That is protected by Arizona law.
But Cadigan said the justices got it wrong when they concluded that each religion gets to decide when they can ignore laws that require everyone else in Arizona to report ongoing child abuse.
The ruling allows religious groups to define for themselves — free from oversight by Arizona courts — what is considered a protected "confidential communication,'' even when multiple people have heard it.
"I don't understand why the Supreme Court ignored the clear intent of the legislation trying to protect children who are voiceless,'' she said.
"The purpose of the statute is to give voice to children who have no way of protecting themselves,'' Cadigan said. "Instead, they decided to place their emphasis on protecting the perpetrators' souls and ignore the needs of these abused children.''
Cadigan and Trebon say the decision creates a dangerous precedent.
"The court has essentially established an absolute immunity for religious institutions that fail to report child sexual abuse, insulating them from civil liability and judicial oversight even when an abuser reveals his crimes in the presence of multiple people over a period of years that were never confidential,'' they wrote. And that, they said, "turns legislative public policy on its head.''
The case was decided on a 7-0 vote.
The state’s high court issued a separate ruling Wednesday offering further guidance on when religious confessions are protected.
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The political world is abuzz with the news that we, for the first time ever, officially have two lieutenant governor picks. Republican candidate Andy Biggs chose former state lawmaker and dairy farmer Sine Kerr and Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs made a more unconventional choice in picking John Giles, a former Mesa mayor and former Republican. -
The state’s Supreme Court ruled the laws would apply only if the conversation was predominately centered around spiritual forgiveness or guidance. -
The Arizona Supreme Court sided with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a controversial religious rights case brought by the children of a man who admitted to church leaders to sexually assaulting them for years. -
The court unanimously ruled that religious institutions, not the courts, are entitled to decide when to report confessions of child abuse. -
Bishop James Misko signed onto a letter calling for immigration reform and helped lead a mass on the Arizona-Mexico reporter in Nogales late last week called Border Mass 250.
