7 years sex abuse of a child covered up by LDS leaders

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Dr Exiled
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Re: 7 years sex abuse of a child covered up by LDS leaders

Post by Dr Exiled »

I don't know how the leaders themselves can still claim inspiration and purposefully engage in the cover-up policy. The conduct beggars belief in the whole church enterprise obviously, but that isn't important to them. The Fund is still growing and has sufficient assets to weather this storm. The bottom line is still in tact.
Myth is misused by the powerful to subjugate the masses all too often.
Tom
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Re: 7 years sex abuse of a child covered up by LDS leaders

Post by Tom »

The first defenses have emerged (see here).
Are there other reasons for clergy sometimes not to report abuse?

Two years ago, Queensland adopted a law that would require Catholic priests to break the seal of confession in some instances. Carl Herstein, a Michigan-based lawyer and practicing Catholic, argued at the time that the law was a serious violation of religious freedom and that, on a practical level, the law would ultimately backfire.

In the two years since the law was passed, most crimes went down in Australia, but domestic violence and sexual abuse rates began to increase at a higher rate and continue to rise.
I am not making this up.
“But if you are told by your leader to do a thing, do it. None of your business whether it is right or wrong.” Heber C. Kimball, 8 Nov. 1857
drumdude
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Re: 7 years sex abuse of a child covered up by LDS leaders

Post by drumdude »

Outside legal concerns, isn’t reporting abuse the obvious ethical choice?

Clearly, reporting abuse in any individual case will most often be best for the child involved. But the answer may not be as clear-cut as some think. There may be some inadvertent consequences of eliminating all prohibitions on reporting. For instance, according to one clinical psychologist, “As the boundaries of confidentiality decrease, people who need help are less likely to seek it out. Instead, they will suffer along in silence and isolation.”

Confessing instances of abuse to a clergy member can often set abusers on the path to deep changes in their behavior. Whereas if they don’t go to see a clergy member because they’re worried about being reported, their abuse will continue without anyone knowing.

Clearly, the victims need to be our top priority. But there are many victims. And some of those victims will only be helped if their abuser comes forward. And those abusers might only come forward if they trust clergy confidentiality. Some recent research suggests that mandatory reporting laws don’t always work and, in fact, can make the problem worse. A reasonable argument can be made that, in the aggregate, maintaining some degree of clergy confidentiality helps reduce child abuse over the long term.
And just as strong a case can be made that hiding abuse protects abusers and gives them a real sense of security about being able to abuse children without consequences.

Not surprising, but still disgusting, to see the church work so hard to protect their right to keep these sex scandals hidden from public scrutiny.
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Re: 7 years sex abuse of a child covered up by LDS leaders

Post by Tom »

Another passage:
Wait, in some places, it’s illegal to report child abuse?

Yes, if you’re clergy. In fact, the Church was recently involved in a lawsuit in Oregon from the wife of a man whose bishop reported his sexual abuse of children to authorities.
What was the outcome of that lawsuit?
“But if you are told by your leader to do a thing, do it. None of your business whether it is right or wrong.” Heber C. Kimball, 8 Nov. 1857
Tom
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Re: 7 years sex abuse of a child covered up by LDS leaders

Post by Tom »

The church has responded:
Church Offers Statement on Help Line and Abuse

Church responds to recent Associated Press article about the Church's abuse help line

The abuse of a child or any other individual is inexcusable. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes this, teaches this, and dedicates tremendous resources and efforts to prevent, report and address abuse. Our hearts break for these children and all victims of abuse.

The nature and the purpose of the Church’s help line was seriously mischaracterized in a recent Associated Press article. The help line is instrumental in ensuring that all legal requirements for reporting are met. It provides a place for local leaders, who serve voluntarily, to receive direction from experts to determine who should make a report and whether they (local leaders) should play a role in that reporting. When a leader calls the help line, the conversation is about how to stop the abuse, care for the victim and ensure compliance with reporting obligations, even in cases when the law provides clergy-penitent privilege or restricts what can be shared from private ecclesiastical conversations.

The help line is just one of many safeguards put in place by the Church. Any member serving in a role with children or youth is required to complete a training every few years about how to watch for, report and address abuse. Leaders and members are offered resources on how to prevent, address and report abuse of any kind. Church teachings and handbooks are clear and unequivocal about the evils of abuse. Members who violate those teachings are disciplined by the Church and may lose their privileges or membership. These are just a few examples.

The story presented in the AP article is oversimplified and incomplete and is a serious misrepresentation of the Church and its efforts. We will continue to teach and follow Jesus Christ’s admonition to care for one another, especially in our efforts related to abuse.
The church posted a link to the statement on its Facebook page, but it turned off all comments.
“But if you are told by your leader to do a thing, do it. None of your business whether it is right or wrong.” Heber C. Kimball, 8 Nov. 1857
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Doctor CamNC4Me
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Re: 7 years sex abuse of a child covered up by LDS leaders

Post by Doctor CamNC4Me »

https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/ ... 881888002/
After the lawsuit was first reported by the Statesman Journal, church spokesman Eric Hawkins released a statement saying "protecting victims and ensuring proper reporting is a top priority" for the church.

The Church teaches that leaders and members should fulfill all legal obligations to report abuse to civil authorities," Hawkins said. "We are grateful for the efforts of law enforcement and prosecutors to investigate and pursue justice for those who were abused."
It seems the Church is on record with regard to to its standards, so if clergy aren’t following protocol then, well, there it is.

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Hugh Nibley claimed he bumped into Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Gertrude Stein, and the Grand Duke Vladimir Romanoff. Dishonesty is baked into Mormonism.
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Re: 7 years sex abuse of a child covered up by LDS leaders

Post by toon »

Tom wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 5:06 pm
The first defenses have emerged (see here).
Are there other reasons for clergy sometimes not to report abuse?

Two years ago, Queensland adopted a law that would require Catholic priests to break the seal of confession in some instances. Carl Herstein, a Michigan-based lawyer and practicing Catholic, argued at the time that the law was a serious violation of religious freedom and that, on a practical level, the law would ultimately backfire.

In the two years since the law was passed, most crimes went down in Australia, but domestic violence and sexual abuse rates began to increase at a higher rate and continue to rise.
I am not making this up.
Assuming that fact is true, could it possibly be that the rates increased because more were reported?
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Kishkumen
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Re: 7 years sex abuse of a child covered up by LDS leaders

Post by Kishkumen »

Simply put, I don't believe the LDS Church on this point. If the helpline is facilitating proper reporting now--which I doubt--it was not so long ago that it did not do so. The helpline existed primarily to protect the LDS Church, something which is not at all surprising. Unfortunately there is a very long history of child abuse going unchecked in the LDS community. Until there is a sizable record of successes, we should remain skeptical when the Church defends itself as though its deserved good reputation has been unjustly tarnished. That is not the case. The LDS Church deserves a bad reputation based on many years of inadequate action that continues up to the present, whether in the way the helpline does or does not work, or in its policies concerning the interviewing of minor children about the intimate details of their sexual lives. Only when the Church has completely turned around on its philosophy and practice regarding the protection of minors from the prurient interests of bad apples should they begin to get the benefit of the doubt.
“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.”~Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow
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Dr Moore
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Re: 7 years sex abuse of a child covered up by LDS leaders

Post by Dr Moore »

Church response:

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.or ... line-abuse
Church Offers Statement on Help Line and Abuse
Church responds to recent Associated Press article about the Church's abuse help line

The abuse of a child or any other individual is inexcusable. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes this, teaches this, and dedicates tremendous resources and efforts to prevent, report and address abuse. Our hearts break for these children and all victims of abuse.

The nature and the purpose of the Church’s help line was seriously mischaracterized in a recent Associated Press article. The help line is instrumental in ensuring that all legal requirements for reporting are met. It provides a place for local leaders, who serve voluntarily, to receive direction from experts to determine who should make a report and whether they (local leaders) should play a role in that reporting. When a leader calls the help line, the conversation is about how to stop the abuse, care for the victim and ensure compliance with reporting obligations, even in cases when the law provides clergy-penitent privilege or restricts what can be shared from private ecclesiastical conversations.

The help line is just one of many safeguards put in place by the Church. Any member serving in a role with children or youth is required to complete a training every few years about how to watch for, report and address abuse. Leaders and members are offered resources on how to prevent, address and report abuse of any kind. Church teachings and handbooks are clear and unequivocal about the evils of abuse. Members who violate those teachings are disciplined by the Church and may lose their privileges or membership. These are just a few examples.

The story presented in the AP article is oversimplified and incomplete and is a serious misrepresentation of the Church and its efforts. We will continue to teach and follow Jesus Christ’s admonition to care for one another, especially in our efforts related to abuse.
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Re: 7 years sex abuse of a child covered up by LDS leaders

Post by Res Ipsa »

Tom wrote:
Fri Aug 05, 2022 5:06 pm
The first defenses have emerged (see here).
Are there other reasons for clergy sometimes not to report abuse?

Two years ago, Queensland adopted a law that would require Catholic priests to break the seal of confession in some instances. Carl Herstein, a Michigan-based lawyer and practicing Catholic, argued at the time that the law was a serious violation of religious freedom and that, on a practical level, the law would ultimately backfire.

In the two years since the law was passed, most crimes went down in Australia, but domestic violence and sexual abuse rates began to increase at a higher rate and continue to rise.
I am not making this up.
I had to read it myself just to make sure. You aren’t.
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