Bill requires ministers to report child abuse
Topeka ? Members of the clergy would be added to the list of professionals who must report suspected child abuse under legislation that has drawn mixed reactions from ministers and other religious officials.
The bill would place the mandatory reporting requirement upon ordained ministers and “any custodian of records” for a minister. But ministers would not have to report something disclosed in confessions or other “penitential” conversations meant to remain confidential.
The Rev. H. Sharon Howell, senior pastor at Lawrence’s First United Methodist Church, told the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee on Thursday that members of the clergy should see such reporting as aiding victims.
“I do not want any religious minister to participate in the conspiracy of silence,” she said.
Representatives of the state’s Roman Catholic dioceses and Kansas Ecumenical Ministries said they could support the bill if two sections were deleted.
They said custodians of records often were unpaid church volunteers and should not be required to report suspected abuse.
Also, they said a provision mandating reporting of suspected child abuse even after a victim reaches adulthood could force a minister to report a decades-old case to authorities.
Kansas already requires that physicians, psychologists, teachers, counselors and therapists inform the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services or law enforcement if they suspect a child has been abused.
Reporting by ministers is HB 2575.