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Survivors urge ending clergy confessional exemption; counsel outlines current law and exceptions
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Summary
Survivors testified that clergy should be required to report child abuse even in confessions; legislative counsel said clergy are mandatory reporters but the statute contains confidentiality exceptions and the committee will ask a working group to review whether the exception should be changed.
Survivors who said they were raised in an institutional setting told the House Human Services Committee they support removing the statutory confessional exception that can shield disclosures from mandatory reporting requirements.
Brenda Hannon, identifying herself as "the spokesperson and a member of the Voices of Saint Joseph's orphanage," told members she believes clergy and church personnel hid abuse and should be required to report disclosures of child abuse to authorities in special circumstances. "If they hear whether in a confessional or not about abuse, any type of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, it should come forward to the authorities and be reported," she said.
Deborah Hayson, who also described childhood experiences at the same institution, supported Brenda's testimony while acknowledging concerns that removing the exception could deter some people from seeking confession. "I think they should report any abuse," Hayson said, adding the only objection she could see was whether victims would still seek confession if they feared disclosures would be reported.
Michelle Childs of the Office of Legislative Counsel told the committee that clergy were added to the list of mandatory reporters in 2003 but the statute includes specific confidentiality exceptions — for example, communications that are privileged or confidential by law, including some communications to clergy. "Clergy are mandatory reporters. There are certain circumstances where they are not required to report," Childs said, and she read the statute's legislative intent language for the record.
Committee members said the survivors' accounts help shape the working group's charge. The chair said the committee will form a working group to examine whether the clergy exemption should be changed and which voices (survivors, advocates, legal counsel) the group should consult as it develops recommendations.
The testimony prompted committee discussion of prior efforts and sponsors; survivors pointed to earlier legislative pushes and offered to be consulted as the working group forms.
