What crime should elders report?

by kramer 44 Replies latest jw friends

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  AbusedandPissed

  First of all in most cases there is no law that requires that you report any law, there are very few crimes which requires someone with knowledge to report a crime. Aiding and abiding or a conspiracy after the fact, it involves more than just not reporting a crime it requires overt actions of someone concealing that a crime has been committed.

  Second, in many US states, Elders do have priest-penitent privilege. This has been found in Delaware, Vermont and Ohio. The activity falls within that privilege when the elder is acting in their capacity providing spiritual advice or guidance to a parishioner. The idea that it has to be a confession is not listed in most US states laws.

  Third, you have to look at the law. In some states, it says that the priest cannot be compelled to give testimony, which might mean that if a priest voluntarily provides this information than they are not being compelled to do anything. But in other states like in New York, the law states that a priest shall not give testimony or provide evidence.
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  vienne

  It may seem like a 'fine distinction' but aren't elders just clergy? They aren't civil authority. So while 'sin' may be reported to them, the police should be contacted first if crime is involved. If we bypass our civil obligations, the consequences rest on us. Theocratic Government is a myth, a false name for church authority. Go to the civil authorities first, and then, if you feel so compelled, to church authority.
  
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  AbusedandPissed

  Well, when civil authorities carve out an exemption of reporting by clergy isn't it the clergy legal responsibility to follow those laws. If someone has murdered someone a normal person would feel regret and pain over their action. That regret may not compel them to seek out a civil authority but they may seek advice from a spiritual guide whether it be a Catholic priest, a Protestant minister, a Jewish rabbi, a Muslim imam or a jw elder. Just like if someone goes and seeks counselling, where that person has had advanced training in their field, there is an expectation that the conversation would be kept confidential.

  Also, you have to remember that in most western nations the rules of evidence and the court system is not there to protect the victim or the society but it is there to protect the accused from the abuses of power from the government and law enforcement.
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  Simon

  It's morally wrong to fail to report certain crimes because often it's leaving someone vulnerable at risk or allowing someone who will very likely to commit similar crimes to re-offend and victimize someone else.

  It's worth remember that what it may initially appear that making clergy "confessions" protect the criminals, it's really designed to protect the church. If they reported confessions, people wouldn't confess ... and they would lose their power of control and manipulation over people.

  That is why they defend the right to avoid reporting the kind of crimes that any normal, moral person would immediately call the police for.
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  I Faded Twice

  Abused and pissed. It's not just about whether they should or shouldn't report. The other problem is they tried to prevent it from being reported by having the elders tell victims and their parents NOT to report.

  This is the bigger of the crimes.imho