Lutheran denomination considers making clergy mandatory reporters

The practice of religious confession is again in the spotlight over the question of whether clergy should report evidence of child abuse heard during private confession or pastoral counseling—but this time within a Protestant denomination.

Next month, leaders and elected representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will vote on a church document that would direct ministers to tell authorities if they hear about child abuse during confession. Twenty-eight states already require clergy to report child abuse. But most of these states grant an exception—also called the “clergy-penitent privilege”—if a child abuser admits to their actions during private pastoral conversations.

According to the Lutheran denomination’s “Draft Social Message on Child Protection,” clergy would “have an obligation to report child maltreatment that is ongoing or that they believe is likely to reoccur.” The document defines maltreatment to include emotional, physical, or sexual abuse as well as exploitation and neglect.

Ryan Cumming, director of theological ethics for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, said the draft document assures victims and vulnerable people that the church will protect them.

“There are survivors of abuse who need the church to name that evil,” Cumming told me in an email. “We should not lose sight of the importance of the church naming that.”

In the ELCA, a “social message” does not establish new moral teaching or policy, but it offers practical guidance on how Lutherans can approach current issues. The position statements represent the views of ELCA leadership, although they are not binding on individual parishioners. A final vote on the policy is slated for Nov. 12.

The Augsburg Confession, which informs Lutheran tradition, states that confession to clergy is important but not necessary to absolve a believer from his sin. For that, he must confess directly to God.

But denominations—and state laws—differ on whether clergy should be required to report certain criminal confessions to authorities.

“The starting point for any denomination, whether it’s the ELCA Lutherans or any others, is just to really ask, ‘What’s our own theology here?’” said Chris Motz, senior counsel with First Liberty Institute. “Then you have to ask, ‘Is there a conflict between our theology and the law of the state?’”

Last week, the state of Washington decided not to enforce a provision of a law that would have required all clergy in the state to report child abuse heard during private confession. In May, with help from First Liberty, Catholic bishops sued the state over the law, saying that forcing them to break the seal of confession violated their First Amendment rights to practice religion.

Catholic doctrine teaches that private, one-on-one confession with a priest is the only way to receive absolution of sins. Catholic leaders say that forcing a priest to violate the confidentiality of confession could cost him his job and failing to confess one’s sins could endanger a repentant Catholic’s soul.

Admissions of child abuse during a private meeting with clergy appear to be rare. But a recent case in Kansas shows that it does happen.

Last month, a judge convicted Charles Bell of child sexual abuse after he confessed to a pastor after a New Year’s Eve service in 2023 at a Christian church in Overland Park, Kan. The pastor notified authorities, who arrested Bell.

According to court documents, Bell’s attorney invoked the clergy-penitent privilege to try to keep the pastor’s testimony out of the case. But the circumstances of Bell’s meeting with the pastor did not fit the law’s definition of a “penitential communication,” according to county attorneys. When Bell called the meeting, the pastor invited a non-ordained elder to listen and take notes. Adding that third person invalidated the confidentiality of the meeting, said prosecutors.

In a September news release, Leavenworth County attorney Todd Thompson said the case marked the first time he’d seen a defendant invoke the clergy-penitent privilege. “While the defendant may have wanted to repent, we’re grateful to the pastors for not giving him a pass for his actions,” he said.

Other major Protestant denominations in recent years have leaned on the side of transparency and told leaders to report abuse. In 2019, the Southern Baptist Convention adopted a resolution that implored “all persons to act decisively on matters of abuse, [and] to immediately report allegations of sexual abuse to civil authorities.” Likewise, the Presbyterian Church in America stated in a 2022 report, “The church has a moral and legal obligation to report suspected abuse.”

Victor Vieth, a Lutheran and the director of the Center for Faith and Child Protection at the Zero Abuse Project, said that he applauded the ELCA’s move. He added that Protestant denominations need to do more to protect children from abuse.

“The early Christians were much more vigorous in distinguishing themselves from other communities by their treatment of children,” Vieth said. “That history has been lost in the Christian church, and without theological engagement, we won’t regain it.”