The Case Against Utah’s Clergy Exemption
by ETHAN GREGORY DODGE
On Halloween 2012, an attorney from Kirton & McConkie sat down at his desk in Salt Lake City, Utah to fill out a document known as the “Green Sheet.” It was given to top leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) to brief them on legal investigations in which the Church is listed as an interested party. That particular month’s copy summarized several investigations of sexual abuse in which the perpetrators are members of the Church, some even missionaries.
The attorney had recently heard from the Church’s Missionary Department about a Mormon missionary who confessed to sexting with a female minor prior to entering the mission field. The girl had sent nude photos. Such an action is a felony in the missionary’s home state, and suspicion of child abuse and neglect must be reported.
The attorney made his status update brief and simply typed:
The missionary department is reluctant to send this Elder home to REDACTED where he may face prosecution for a felony. His conduct is clearly unlawful in REDACTED and his Stake President would have the duty to report.
Typically, a missionary admitting to such an act would be sent home. But, this situation highlights factors that were not previously widely known. If the missionary were from Utah— as a sizable number of missionaries are— they likely would not have hesitated, as clergy are not legally mandated to report child abuse if the confession comes from the perpetrator. He would have been able to confess to his Stake President in solemn secrecy without fear of legal retribution, leaving little chance of justice for the minor.
Many leaders cite the doctrine of repentance as justification for such exemptions, claiming that the communication between confessor and Church leader is sacred and deserves secrecy and privilege. However, the most crucial part of the repentance process is restitution. Not only is this explicitly taught in the walls of Mormon chapels, but it is also part of the missionary’s curriculum found in Preach My Gospel, the Mormon missionary training manual. It states, “We do all we can to correct the problems our actions may have caused; this is called restitution.”
There is a belief within religious communities that the restitution sufficient for sacred forgiveness can be paid without facing necessary legal implications. This idea, while clearly made manifest in the story above, is not unique to Mormonism. Similar actions have been documented in countless other faith groups such as the Roman Catholic Church, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and various other Christian denominations.
Anecdotally, apologists have explicitly stated that there is no moral obligation to report if the law does not require it. But, why reference anecdotes when blatant examples are readily available? In 1999, the LDS Church released a training video for Bishops stating:
… some states protect confidential communications between church members and their ecclesiastical leaders. Laws granting clergy privilege vary from state to state and change frequently. Therefore..., you may need assistance determining whether the information is privileged to remain confidential or whether the law requires it to be reported to civil authorities.
This suggests that if an exemption exists, it will likely be applied and the damaging effect of its application on victims of child abuse must be erased.
Currently, 32 states have some exemption for clergy members. On November 7, 2018, all state-level lawmakers in the state of Utah were contacted with a proposal that the state’s exemption be struck out. The Truth and Transparency Foundation seeks to remove all clergy exemptions from mandatory child abuse and neglect reporting laws everywhere, starting in the Beehive State.
For more information, please visit The Truth and Transparency Foundation’s petition. You can learn more about contacting your legislators