from:
http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?ItemId=13043
Stop Child Abuse by Religious Leaders
Contributed by Working Assets
Sexual abuse is perpetrated by all manner of people on those that are powerless or are too trusting. It is in no way specific to one church or to religious institutions. It festers and continues when those who abuse are not reported and prosecuted. All too often, religious leaders, when confronted with abuse, enter into confidential financial settlements that leave the community unaware of the crime and the perpetrator free to abuse again -- sometimes harming dozens of victims.
The accounts that have come out of the Roman Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal are horrific. But what adds to this horror is that religious leaders of all kinds -- priests, ministers, rabbis and others -- are often excluded from laws that require doctors, social workers, child care workers and the like to report suspected abuse to authorities.
It is time for the religious exemption to end. Laws are currently being debated in many states, including Massachusetts and New York, which would require religious leaders to report abuse or be subject to prosecution. Most such proposals specifically provide for the confidentiality of information gained in privileged conversations such as confession. States that do not require church officials to report suspected child abuse must immediately put such laws on the books, and those individuals that violate existing laws should be prosecuted.
Child abuse is not specific to any one religion or denomination, and the behavior of a few has damaged the reputations of thousands of upstanding religious leaders. Recent revelations have focused on the Roman Catholic Church, with dozens of priests reassigned and one bishop resigning for past behavior.
However, the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, while expressing regret and sorrow, and promising to do better in the future, has not done remotely enough. The church should set an example by immediately adopting a policy of reporting suspected abuse and it should support the introduction and passage of reporting legislation in states where such laws don't yet exist. The first obligation of society and the church must be to protect innocent children from exploitation.
Call to action
Urge Bishop Wilton D. Gregory, the President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, to act immediately to protect innocent children. The Conference should set an example for all religious organizations by urging legislators to support passage of legislation that adds all religious figures to the list of those who are required to report suspected child abuse.