Article Author:
Associated Press
Michael Rezendes
Arizona judge finds Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints conspiring to cover up child sexual abuse is overseeing a high-profile lawsuit accusing The church ruled that under the state's "priest of repentance for clergy," it may not refuse to answer questions or submit documents.
As in many states, information about child sexual abuse or neglect must be reported to law enforcement or child welfare authorities. However, an exception to that law, a privilege, allows clergy members who learn of the abuse through spiritual confession to keep the information confidential.
Laura Judge Cardinal ruled on August 8 that the late Paul Adams waived his right to keep his confession confidential.
"In summary, Adams' blatant conduct demonstrates a lack of repentance and a profound disregard for the principles of the Church, which is commonly known as the Mormon Church," the Cardinal said in her ruling. rice field. "His conduct can only be characterized as a waiver of the priestly privilege of repentance."
The lawsuit alleges that two bishops from Arizona and a Church leader from Salt Lake City were accused of abuse. and accused Adams of neglecting to abuse his eldest daughter for seven years. girl's little sister.
The cardinal denounced the Church after lawyers for three victims objected when it refused to produce disciplinary records for Adams, who was excommunicated in 2013. has issued her order which is expected to be appealed. The victim's attorney also objected to the citation of privilege by church officials who refused to answer questions in pretrial testimony.
"The judge's order applies to what happened at the church's secret records and secret excommunication hearings," said Lynn, an attorney for her three children who filed the lawsuit. Cardigan said.
The Cardinal's orders require church official Richard Fife, the clerk who took notes at the excommunication hearing, to answer questions from the lawyers representing the Adams children. Church officials are also required to file disciplinary council meeting records.
The Church has filed a legal motion to delay execution of the Cardinal's order until the Cardinal challenges her findings in the Arizona Court of Appeals. Without delay, the Church's attorney said that information deemed confidential under the Priestly Repentance Privileges would be released to the Adams' children's attorneys and potentially to the public.
43} “Privileged information was disclosed and 'it is impossible to ring the bell,' the church said.In a motion to the Cardinals earlier this year to dismiss the lawsuit, the Church said Bishops John Herod and Robert "Kim" Morsey had called Adams' "secret confession." He said it "entirely depends" on whether he should report it. Exempted from reporting requirements to administrative authorities or under privilege.
The lawsuit was brought by three of her six children of Paul and Raiza Adams and was featured in a recent AP investigation. . The AP says the church's "abuse helpline," which Herrod and Mauzy use to contact church attorneys, has led church leaders to deflect abuse accusations from law enforcement and bury church attorneys instead. I discovered that it is part of a system that can be easily exploited for Issues that endanger victims.
The "helpline" identified in the AP investigation is housed in the Church's Risk Management Department, where Church officials protect the Church from financial losses and lawsuits that could damage the Church's reputation. working to protect the
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement late Wednesday, saying, "AP's article contains serious flaws in its facts and timelines, leading to erroneous conclusions."
This statement does not dispute the facts of the story, stating that the helpline "has everything to do with protecting children and has nothing to do with the cover-up." No."
The investigation, based in part on nearly 12,000 pages of sealed documents from an unrelated West Virginia child sexual abuse lawsuit against the Church, is the most detailed and comprehensive to date. provided a formal appearance and offered a so-called helpline. This has been criticized by Mormon abuse victims and their lawyers as insufficient to stop abuse quickly and protect victims.
Sealed records, including affidavits by church officials, revealed that all records of calls to the helpline were destroyed at the end of each day. They also believe that Mormon church officials classify all calls made to lawyers from the Carton-McConkie firm representing the church under attorney-client privilege.
In an interview last month, William Maledon, an Arizona attorney who represents the church in the lawsuit, said Adams had been accused of abuse of both daughters on the Internet. Neither Herrod nor Mauzy knew that Adams had posted pornographic material, so the abuse on social media had nothing to do with the incident.
"The bishops knew nothing about it," Maredon said, adding that Herod and Mouzy said the same thing in affidavits filed in the case.
However, Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre, who initiated a criminal investigation into the church, told The Associated Press several months ago that Adams had posted the abuse online and discussed it. , said he believed he had waived confidentiality under the privilege of repenting of the sins of the clergy.
Adams "disclosed his actual crime to thousands of people on the Internet," McIntyre said.
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