Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Bill to Report Confessed Abuse by Priests Put on Hold
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
July 10, 2019

Share

SACRAMENTO — A bill that would require California religious leaders to report their co-workers’ confessions of child abuse or neglect has been put on hold amid opposition from the Catholic church.
California law already requires clergy to report knowledge of child abuse and neglect. But they can keep it a secret if they learned about it during a confession.
State Sen. Jerry Hill, a Democrat from San Mateo, wrote a bill this year to change that, but only if the confession was from another religious leader or someone who works at the church. It passed the Senate by a vote of 30-4 in May.
On Tuesday, Hill announced he was putting the bill on hold because it did not have enough support to pass the state Assembly. But Hill said the issue remains important to him, and he vowed to continue his efforts to pass it.

Catholic Conference of California Opposed Bill

“Senate Bill 360 has one purpose only, not to restrict faith, but to ensure the protection of the most vulnerable of the faithful: children,” Hill said in a news release. “I strongly believe that for any institution self-policing and self-investigation are not effective ways to combat alleged abuse, as our own state Legislature has found.”
The state Legislature recently reformed how it investigates sexual misconduct claims against its own members after facing intense criticism.
The Catholic Conference of California had opposed the bill. The organization gave written comments to the legislature saying the church “agrees with the general principle that all youth should be protected from sexual abuse.”
But the conference added everyone has “the right to confess sins anonymously and confidentially,” saying the bill would deny that right to thousands of the church’s employees “based solely upon their particular religious and employment status.”

Recent Cases in the Valley

Catholic dioceses across the country have recently revealed reports of widespread sexual abuse by priests and other church leaders. In California, the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento released a list of more than 40 priests in April it says have been accused of sexual abuse. In the San Francisco Bay Area, a law firm suing California bishops compiled a list of more than 200 clergy it says have been accused of sexual abuse.
In June, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno announced that a priest who once served at a Fresno parish had been placed on paid administrative leave because of sexual abuse allegations. Father Eric Swearingen had been assigned to a Visalia church since 2014, but has been on a long medical leave. Abuse accusations against Swearingen date back to 2002.
At the time of the action against Swearingen, the Fresno diocese had seven of its priests on leave amid ongoing investigations.
In April, Craig Harrison, a monsignor in Bakersfield, was placed on paid leave following an allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor in Firebaugh.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno announced the suspension of Msgr. Craig Harrison in a news release Thursday. Allegations of sexual misconduct against Harrison date back to 2003.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Sinner Bids for His First French Open Title Against Defending Champion Alcaraz

DON'T MISS

Coco Gauff Defeats Top-Ranked Aryna Sabalenka in 3 Sets to Win Her First French Open Title

DON'T MISS

Texas Beats Texas Tech in 3rd Game of WCWS to Win Its 1st National Championship

DON'T MISS

Conforto Comes Through, Dodgers Rally in 8th for Victory Abetted by Mets Mishap

DON'T MISS

Giants Beat the Slumping Braves in 10 Innings on a Wild Pitch

DON'T MISS

Trans Troops, Facing a Deadline, Opt to Stay and Fight the Ban

DON'T MISS

Can This 14-Year-Old Football Star Become a High School Millionaire?

DON'T MISS

Trump EPA Moves to Roll Back Rules Projected to Save Billions of Dollars and Thousands of Lives

DON'T MISS

Valley Foster Care Agencies Are Facing an Insurance Crisis and Possible Closure

DON'T MISS

World’s Largest Almond Processor Will Shutter Sacramento Plant. 600 Workers Impacted

UP NEXT

Trump Eyes Major Funding Cuts for California, Including All Public Universities

UP NEXT

Southern California Air Regulators Weigh a Plan to Phase Out Gas Furnaces and Water Heaters

UP NEXT

Doctors Were Preparing to Remove Their Organs. Then They Woke Up.

UP NEXT

FDA’s AI Assistant ‘Elsa’ Fails Its First Day on the Job

UP NEXT

Newsom Promises Funding to Jump-Start ‘Science of Reading’

UP NEXT

Rancho Cucamonga Prepares for First US Bullet Train Hub in 2028

UP NEXT

8 Ways Musk and Trump Could Inflict Pain on Each Other

UP NEXT

D-Day Veterans Return to Normandy to Mark 81st Anniversary of Landings

UP NEXT

Lambda Legal, a Nonprofit Supporting LGBTQ+ Rights, Exceeded Fundraising Goal by $105M

UP NEXT

Trump Threatens Musk’s Government Deals as Feud Explodes Over Tax-Cut Bill

Conforto Comes Through, Dodgers Rally in 8th for Victory Abetted by Mets Mishap

35 minutes ago

Giants Beat the Slumping Braves in 10 Innings on a Wild Pitch

45 minutes ago

Trans Troops, Facing a Deadline, Opt to Stay and Fight the Ban

2 hours ago

Can This 14-Year-Old Football Star Become a High School Millionaire?

2 hours ago

Trump EPA Moves to Roll Back Rules Projected to Save Billions of Dollars and Thousands of Lives

3 hours ago

Valley Foster Care Agencies Are Facing an Insurance Crisis and Possible Closure

3 hours ago

World’s Largest Almond Processor Will Shutter Sacramento Plant. 600 Workers Impacted

17 hours ago

Trump Eyes Major Funding Cuts for California, Including All Public Universities

17 hours ago

Farming Regulation Costs Rise 1,300% Since 2006: Cal Poly

18 hours ago

Southern California Air Regulators Weigh a Plan to Phase Out Gas Furnaces and Water Heaters

19 hours ago

Sinner Bids for His First French Open Title Against Defending Champion Alcaraz

PARIS — Top-ranked Jannik Sinner has not yet dropped a set in his bid to win the French Open for the first time. Defending champion Carlos A...

23 minutes ago

23 minutes ago

Sinner Bids for His First French Open Title Against Defending Champion Alcaraz

26 minutes ago

Coco Gauff Defeats Top-Ranked Aryna Sabalenka in 3 Sets to Win Her First French Open Title

30 minutes ago

Texas Beats Texas Tech in 3rd Game of WCWS to Win Its 1st National Championship

35 minutes ago

Conforto Comes Through, Dodgers Rally in 8th for Victory Abetted by Mets Mishap

45 minutes ago

Giants Beat the Slumping Braves in 10 Innings on a Wild Pitch

3 hours ago

Trans Troops, Facing a Deadline, Opt to Stay and Fight the Ban

3 hours ago

Can This 14-Year-Old Football Star Become a High School Millionaire?

4 hours ago

Trump EPA Moves to Roll Back Rules Projected to Save Billions of Dollars and Thousands of Lives

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend