State supreme court rules in case of two bishops who were silent about three children abused by Mormon parents
Clergy members in Arizona who learn of child abuse in the context of religious confession are not required to report it, the state’s supreme court has said in a ruling that protects what church leaders call the “seal of the confessional”.
The panel’s ruling ends a long-running case in which three children who were sexually abused by their parents sued the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), also known as the Mormon church, and two bishops who became aware of the crimes but remained silent.
The case has parallels in a short-lived 2025 law in Washington state that would have compelled clergy members there to report sexual abuse. That proposal was permanently withdrawn in October after legal action by the Catholic church.
In a statement, the LDS welcomed the unanimous ruling by the state supreme court on Thursday that exempts clergy members as “mandated reporters” if they learned of the abuse of minors in the confession booth or through other “confidential” methods.
There are so many phrasing variants depending on translation. Do we believe the bible, or the actions of people who claim to be Christians? Many Christian parents have historically interpreted the bible advocacy not as metaphor for instruction, but of severe physical discipline and corporal punishment. 2000 years surely is long enough for Christians to refine their game to your gentler and kinder interpretation, yes?
See Religion and Child Abuse, Perfect Together, by Donald Capps.
There are plenty of Christians with that kinder interpretation though. You think Ms. Rachel is advocating for child abuse because she’s Christian?
The “/r/atheist” position is to tell those that are religious what they believe. It’s like telling someone what their music taste is. If a Christian is using their religion to justify their bigotry or abusive behavior; you can call that out. But religion isn’t a strict adherence to a religious text. It’s significantly more about community and unique to every person.
Edit: I’m not a Christian or religious. I just believe people when they tell me what they believe. I don’t try to tell them they believe something else.
I’m quickly starting to take the ACAB approach to religions. If they’re not actively trying to weed out their own rotten apples, they’re part of the problem. Locally if they’re everyday people, but at a much wider scale if they have a platform.
The the equivalent of including anyone that’s ever called 911 in ACAB.
Not at all, people calling 911 aren’t other police officers.
It’s an analogy mate. “Them not being police officers” is a difference not important to the core of the analogy.
You’re looking at something like “a pen is to write as a knife is cut” and saying “a knife can write by carving”.
But it would be dumb to generalize all “911 callers” as ACAB. It would be correct to criticize the “911 callers” that use the institutions of white supremacy to harass and abuse black people. That’s the point. There is a line between “Christian church attendees” and “the church” itself. That line is can be crossed by attendees. But they are not the church themselves.
Same goes for “911 callers”. All pay taxes and some benefit and exploit the the structures of white supremacy.
I’m all for “all Catholic priest are bastards” as their relationship with the church cannot exist without knowledge of its crimes and the institutional backing of those crimes. They uphold the structures directly.
But to say that “all Catholics are bastards” would be removing the material reasons for the ACPAB and instead placing the claim within the framing of Idealism
All theists are bastards for selfishly repeating baseless, deadly claims as facts.
Let’s grow up, please, magic isn’t real.
I see LDS and I already know its a horror story.
Imagine if there were people that spent their entire lives interpreting it and can guide you?
theyre called priests.
Also, most Catholics dont hold the corporal punishment interpretation
Oh, I went to Christian private schools, I’ve had my fill of their BS. “Preach the new testament, practice the old.” That’s Christianity in a nutshell.
thats american puritanism in a nutshell
Dumb fuck, that’s you, too. You’re defending a baby-murdering god in our other thread.
How do you know catholicism is correct and LDS is wrong? They have exactly as much evidence for their claims as you do.
Stop defending death cults.
We have a LOT more theological evidence
Peter is literally cephas, the rock of the church.
He was literally told “feed my sheep”
Theology is not science. Theology is “well, we start with the baseless claim that god exists, then we build more baseless claims on top.”
It’s lying to protect lies.
baseless? no.
To claim that God does not exist is a logical contradiction
to be created of yourself, and not of a creator is to rely on nothing.
We rely on a LOT of other things. Actually, everything relies on other things, except God.
Yes. There is no evidence of god, no observable base, yet you make an assumption and treat it as a fact.
No, it is not. All of the data my brain has parsed over my entire lifetime suggests to my current self that there is no god. Humans made it up.
I was birthed by humans. Who created god? Himself? Or was he always there? Either way, we can make the same guesses about the universe itself, no god necessary.
And god’s dad. And god’s dad’s dad. Etc.