Posted on 09/07/2022 6:48:15 PM PDT by Morgana
So many institutions — from schools and Scouts to clubs and churches and everything in between — have been forced to wrestle with sexual abuse of minors in their midst.
For its part, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has proclaimed that “when abuse occurs, the first and immediate responsibility of church leaders is to help those who have been abused and to protect vulnerable persons from future abuse.” To that end, it has created trainings for adult volunteers on how to recognize and prevent abuse and has implemented rules about who can be alone with children.
But its primary and most visible tool has been a 24/7 help line for lay clergy — mainly male bishops and stake presidents (regional leaders) — which is staffed by a team of attorneys with the Utah-based church’s Salt Lake City law firm, Kirton McConkie.
It’s a service whose “client” is, technically, the church itself and the whole system is deemed confidential, with details unavailable to the public.
When faced with allegations of abuse in their congregations, some local Latter-day Saint leaders view the help line as a godsend, while to critics it is nothing more than an effort to protect the church from lawsuits.
A recently published and explosive story by The Associated Press details an egregious case in Arizona (brought to light in 2018 by The Salt Lake Tribune) where a father sexually abused his young daughters for years, even videotaping the assaults and putting them on the internet.
The victims’ Latter-day Saint bishop was told by someone on the help line not to take any action against the father or to report it because it emerged in the midst of a “confession,” which exempts religious leaders due to the clergy/penitent relationship.
(Excerpt) Read more at sltrib.com ...
The church of LSD is much funner
Agreed. He who pays the piper calls the tune.
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