“This
is scary stuff,” Conference Minister and President Nancy S. Taylor said
to the room full of clergy, midway through a day of discussion about
confidentiality issues.
It
was a sentiment echoed by many of the 120 pastors who attended a recent
clergy colloquy to wrestle with the implications of a new state law
making them mandated reporters of child abuse.
The
law had passed just three days before. It requires members of the clergy
to report any reasonable suspicion of child abuse to proper authorities
– including any past cases. The only exception is for knowledge of abuse
gained in “confession or similarly confidential communication” – and
many believe there is nothing similar to confession within the United
Church of Christ.
But what was scary for those present was not that they must now act
if a child is being harmed. What was scary was the gray areas not reflected
in the black- and white- legislation.
One pastor said he had done marriage counseling with hundreds of people
over the past 30 years, and said during that time adults had told him
they were abused when they were children. Did he have to report those
cases now? How could he without knowing who the abusers were? Another
pastor asked what to do if she suspected abuse, but feared for her safety
if she reported the abuser. How is that handled?
 |
| Jan
Gregory-Charpentier, pastor of the United Parish in Upton, asks
a question at a recent clergy colloquy on confidentiality.
|
|
Chapter
107 Massachusetts General Laws
A priest, rabbi, clergy member, ordained or licensed minister,
leader of a church or religious body or accredited Christian Science
practitioner shall report all cases of abuse…
Order
for Ordination of Ministry,
UCC Book of Worship:
Q. Will you keep silent all confidences shared with you?
A. I will, relying on God’s grace.
UCC Ordained Minister’s Code,
UCC Manual on Ministry:
I will honor all confidences shared with me.
Clergy?
Join a confidential discussion on these statements.
|
There
was only one clear answer for their questions, according to United Church
of Christ Special Counsel Donald Clark.
“Good ministry makes for good legal results,” Clark said. “When it comes
right down to it, is it the law that really matters? Or is what matters
what good teaching tell us – that if a child is being abused we report
it, period.”
Clark
warned that court cases involving pastors and confidentiality are on
the rise. He talked about one such case in Massachusetts in which a
UCC clergy person who planned to report an abuse case to authorities
was sued by the person she planned to report for allegedly breaching
confidentiality. The clergy person won the case – but only after a year-long
battle that cost $15,000.
On the flipside, Clark also told of court cases in other states where
clergy have been compelled to reveal information. He gave the example
of a couple that goes to a pastor for marriage counseling, but ends
up divorcing and fighting for custody of a child.
“The pastor is subpoenaed to testify for spouse A instead of for spouse
B, with spouse A saying things like ‘you know I’m the better parent’
based on what was said in counseling,” he said.
“You have the legal system trying to require and cajole you to make
disclosures while simultaneously trying to prevent and prohibit you
from making disclosures,” he said.
Another
thorny issue discussed by the clergy gathered was the question of how
to reconcile the mandatory reporting law – and the moral obligation
to help a child being harmed – with their ordination vows, in which
they agreed to “keep silent all confidences.” In small group discussions
during the day, several people said there is a need to change the wording
of that vow, perhaps instead using “honor all confidences” which is
the phrase used in the UCC Manual on Ministry.
Clark
said there is a difference between “secrecy” and “confidentiality.”
 |
| United
Church of Christ Special Counsel Donald Clark answers a question
while Associate Conference Minister Susan Dickerman looks on. |
“Secrecy
means that you never tell,” Clark said. “Confidentiality means you only
tell those who need to know, you only tell them when they need to know,
and you only give them the amount of information they need to know.”
He added that clergy need to make that difference clear to their congregations.
“Don’t wait until you are one-on-one with someone,” Clark said. “Preach
on the issue, or communicate it through the church newsletter.” [For
a sample newsletter article, see the Minister
and President’s column]
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