SeN: Child Abusers Deserve Clergy Protection?

[Rivendale]

KyleR. His parents were very cruel.

You can't argue with 69 orders of magnitude. I wonder how many acrostics are being missed.

[Moksha]

Keeping mandatory silence in child sexual abuse cases by an order from the Church law firm does have a certain appeal to abusers. This would also be useful to mention to parents considering baptism, especially if such behavior is occurring in their families.

[drumdude]

KyleR. His parents were very cruel.

You can't argue with 69 orders of magnitude. I wonder how many acrostics are being missed.

He’s such a slimy little prick lol. The perfect fit for a journal like Interpreter.

[Kishkumen]

I think it is fair, ahem, to say that research is usually employed in exactly this way in the LDS Church. It is brought forward to give space to the Church to continue doing what the Church is doing. If the research clearly weighed against the Church’s policy, it simply would not be mentioned.

[Gadianton]

I think it is fair, ahem, to say that research is usually employed in exactly this way in the LDS Church. It is brought forward to give space to the Church to continue doing what the Church is doing. If the research clearly weighed against the Church’s policy, it simply would not be mentioned.

Yep.

[Doctor Scratch]

I think it is fair, ahem, to say that research is usually employed in exactly this way in the LDS Church. It is brought forward to give space to the Church to continue doing what the Church is doing. If the research clearly weighed against the Church’s policy, it simply would not be mentioned.

Yep.

Agreed! And rather predictably, the Afore is playing games with semantics: "Oh, the Church hotline is *only* for bishops and stake presidents!" So all other cases where abuse happens within the Church social structure are to be met with a shrug? Or phone up the *actual* authorities? This "hotline," which--you'll recall--was irresponsibly being plugged as the "greatest" means of preventing abuse in the history of the world--is now *only* for bishops and stake presidents! My, the goal posts shift again, eh? And like I said: the Proprietor himself admits that *he* wouldn't call the number. ("I'm not a bishop or a stake president, so *of course* I wouldn't call it!!") And yet, the Church's own documentation would seem to broaden the language of who is supposed to call the hotline: is says "Church leaders." So would that include leaders of Mopologetic organizations such as Interpreter, too?

Like I said: if he's *not* being disingenuous, and if he actually trusts the Church's lawyers and bureaucrats to do the best thing in cases of child abuse, then let him openly declare as much on his blog.

[I Have Questions]

Yep.

Agreed! And rather predictably, the Afore is playing games with semantics: "Oh, the Church hotline is *only* for bishops and stake presidents!" So all other cases where abuse happens within the Church social structure are to be met with a shrug? Or phone up the *actual* authorities? This "hotline," which--you'll recall--was irresponsibly being plugged as the "greatest" means of preventing abuse in the history of the world--is now *only* for bishops and stake presidents! My, the goal posts shift again, eh? And like I said: the Proprietor himself admits that *he* wouldn't call the number. ("I'm not a bishop or a stake president, so *of course* I wouldn't call it!!") And yet, the Church's own documentation would seem to broaden the language of who is supposed to call the hotline: is says "Church leaders." So would that include leaders of Mopologetic organizations such as Interpreter, too?

Like I said: if he's *not* being disingenuous, and if he actually trusts the Church's lawyers and bureaucrats to do the best thing in cases of child abuse, then let him openly declare as much on his blog.

I suppose it means that only a man can call the Church hotline, as only men can serve as a Bishop or a Stake President. It’s also a bit of a slip because it’s telling Relief Society Presidents, and Primary Presidents (usually a woman), that they aren’t “Church Leaders”.

[Gadianton]

Doctor Scratch,

Can you clarify what kind of a hotline this is? I wasn't so sure after I read your last post. I mentioned that corporations protect themselves by throwing together training and a hotline for whatever it is they want to claim deniability for. But, those hotlines are third parties that at least have somewhat of an interest in solving the problem. Is this hotline a third party or is a Kirton rep with 5 lawyers listening in?

[drumdude]

Information about the hotline is available here:

https://wasmormon.org/kirton-mcconkies- ... -protocol/

Tell Priesthood Leader that no identifying information should be given. Use First Names only.

1999 Protocol for Abuse Help Line Calls: Internal checklist used by employees of the Mormon Church who field incoming phone calls from Bishops and other local leaders when confronted with situations involving sex abuse. MormonLeaks, October 2, 2018

Note the use of the phrase “Priesthood Leader.”

[Doctor Scratch]

Doctor Scratch,

Can you clarify what kind of a hotline this is? I wasn't so sure after I read your last post. I mentioned that corporations protect themselves by throwing together training and a hotline for whatever it is they want to claim deniability for. But, those hotlines are third parties that at least have somewhat of an interest in solving the problem. Is this hotline a third party or is a Kirton rep with 5 lawyers listening in?

Hello, Dean Robbers.

I think your question is understandable. We are being given a bunch of different details about the hotline that don't seem to all line up. On the one hand, the hotline was being promoted on SeN as being "as valuable a tool as exists in the world to protect children." Meanwhile, the Afore himself is saying that

"The “help line” isn’t intended for everybody and anybody out there who knows of abuse or who suspects that abuse is occurring. It certainly isn’t intended as a universal substitute for relevant legal procedures. It is, as the passage cited above clearly and repeatedly says, “for bishops and stake presidents.”

And as if that weren't strange enough on its own, the actual Church website specifies that the phone number is for "Church leaders" and "Church organizational leaders," which would seem to refer to people beyond bishops and SPs.

But back to your question: I'm not sure. Based on the information at hand, it would seem that, as you suggest, it is indeed Church lawyers/bureaucrats manning this "hotline."