NORTH DAKOTA
KFYR-TV
January 29, 2021
By Hayley Boland
The state Senate has withdrawn a controversial bill that would have included clergies as a mandatory reporting body for child abuse.
The current law requires various groups like teachers, child care workers, doctors, and police to report child abuse or neglect when they see it, but there’s an exemption for clergy members when serving as a spiritual adviser.
Senate Bill 2180 would have included clergies as mandatory reporters.
The bill received pushback from members of the Catholic Church, for fear it would “unseal” the Catholic confession.
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