Arizona clergy-penitent privilege legal ruling

The Arizona Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling affirming that clergy members are not required to report child abuse to authorities if the information is obtained through confession or other confidential religious communications. The court held that such disclosures fall under the church’s confidential religious process, noting that civil courts are not responsible for defining what constitutes a “confession” or “confidential communication” within a religious tradition.

The decision stems from a lawsuit involving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In that case, a member confessed to sexually abusing his children during formal religious repentance processes, but the abuse was not reported to law enforcement and continued for years until an international investigation intervened in 2017.

While the court maintained that religious doctrine regarding sacramental secrecy falls outside civil jurisdiction, advocacy groups have warned that the ruling creates a “confessional loophole” that could allow predators to evade justice. In the legislature, some officials have attempted to modify the clergy-penitent privilege or seek exceptions for ongoing abuse, while others have moved to block such changes to protect religious sacraments.