Page 18 - Christopher Dodson News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

REQUIRED to report things like child abuse and neglect. But, according to that same Century Code, "A member of the clergy, however, is not required to report such circumstances if the knowledge or suspicion is derived from information received in the capacity of spiritual adviser." And one North Dakota State Senator wants to strike that exemption from the Century Code. KX News reports that, in the name of helping abused children, Republican Senator Judy Lee of West Fargo wants to force clergy to report confessions of abuse. She also wants clergy to face 30 days in jail for refusing to repo...

North Dakota could become the first state in the nation to force clergy to fess up.

By Michael W. Chapman | January 20, 2021 | 12:33pm EST (Getty Images) (CNS News) -- Three Republican and two Democratic members of the North Dakota legislature have introduced a bill that would require professional workers to report information about child abuse if they learn about it in their "professional capacity," including "clergy" who learn about it in the confessional.  If a priest does not report information about child abuse learned in the confessional, he could be charged with a Class B misdemeanor and face 30 days in jail and a fine up to $1,...

By Michael W. Chapman | January 20, 2021 | 12:33pm EST (Getty Images) (CNS News) -- Three Republican and two Democratic members of the North Dakota legislature have introduced a bill that would require professional workers to report information about child abuse if they learn about it in their "professional capacity," including "clergy" who learn about it in the confessional.  If a priest does not report information about child abuse learned in the confessional, he could be charged with a Class B misdemeanor and face 30 days in jail and a fine up to $1,...

Opposing this legislation is absurd from a practical policy perspective and abhorrent from a moral point of view.