The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that any requirement for churches to report confessions of child sexual abuse made to clergy is unconstitutional under the religious freedom protections of the First Amendment. The case in question concerns a lawsuit against the Mormon (LDS) Church by children of a deceased Border Patrol agent who abused them and posted videos of the abuse online. The church excommunicated him, but did not contact law enforcement authorities. Child advocates decried the ruling, but its constitutional basis appears sound, and several other churches filed briefs in support of the LDS position. Unlike licensed therapists, clergy are not mandatory reporters, and forcing them to be violates the sanctity of the confessional ritual in some faiths.
