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Abuse Survivors Coalition [USA]
August 3, 2026
For Immediate Release: August 3, 2026\
On July 30th, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that individual religious communities get to decide when their clergy must report child sexual abuse (CSA). Tim Lennon, an Arizona advocate with the Abuse Survivors Coalition (ASC), called this decision “reckless, irresponsible, and harmful” and added that children in the state will be at more risk because of this ruling.
In a decision arising out of an infamous case from the Church of Latter Day Saints, the Court sided with religious leaders and proclaimed that the state’s clergy-penitent privilege shielded communities from having to report CSA if the entity believed that the information was obtained through the institution’s own definition of confession or confidential communication. The unanimous Court further declared that any intervention by the courts would violate the First Amendment.
The ASC countered with the assertion that no Constitutional Right is absolute, even the free exercise of religion. The survivors’ group also noted that several states already excluded knowledge of child sexual abuse from the clergy-penitent privilege and have for years. The ASC added that religious institutions have a vested interest in concealing CSA, to protect both their assets and their public image. On the other hand, the government has a vested interest in protecting children from the damaging effects of CSA.
A survivor of CSA in the Catholic Church, Tim lamented the Court’s decision.
“What happens when a religious institution chooses to protect itself rather than the children entrusted to them? More children suffer irreparable harm. According to the Diocese of Sioux City, the priest who raped me at age 12, Fr. Peter Brenden Murphy, is “credibly accused” of hurting 11 children between 1956-1964. The Diocese does not provide information as to when the earliest accusation became known, but Fr. Murphy was put on his first leave of absence in 1960, following his assignment to my parish. Outrageously, this priest continued to be assigned parish work until his death in 1980. My heart aches for all the other children who I am sure were harmed because no one reported Fr. Murphy’s abuse of children to law enforcement, or kept him away from his preferred victims.”
While the ASC is a newly formed organization, Tim has worked for decades advocating for survivors and leading peer-to-peer survivor support groups, first in San Francisco and now in Tucson. Tim’s meetings are currently virtual, and those victims in need of help, no matter where they were hurt or where they live now, can reach out to Tim directly for more information.
CONTACT: Tim Lennon, ASC AZ Contact (info@standupspeakup.org, 415-312-5820), Melanie Sakoda, ASC Media Statement Working Group, ASC CA Contact (melanie.sakoda@gmail.com, 925-708-6175)
(The Abuse Survivors Coalition is a survivor-led, peer-run organization dedicated to supporting individuals affected by abuse and advocating for accountability within institutions where abuse has occurred. ASC is informed by decades of collective experience in survivor support, advocacy, and public education. The organization focuses on facilitating peer support, sharing information about available survivor resources, and engaging in advocacy efforts centered on survivor-led principles. Survivors remain the central priority of the ASC’s work. Our website is: www.ascoalition.org)