Last week a California state senator introduced a bill to remove the penitential exemption from mandatory reporting of sexual abuse, in what amounts to an attack on the seal of confession.
Jerry Hill, who represents a Bay Area district from southern San Francisco to the outskirts of San Jose, is proud of his bill, touting it in a press release on his website and making clear that its purpose is to remove the exemption for disclosures made in a penitential context.
A factsheet on Hill’s website reads: “SB 360 requires clergy to report suspected child abuse or neglect, even if they acquired the knowledge or suspicion during a penitential communication. Clergy are already mandated to report child abuse and neglect in California, except if they learn of suspected abuse during a penitential communication. This bill would level the playing field by holding them to the same standard as every other mandated reporter.”
