TOPEKA (KS)
KCTV CBS 5 [Kansas City, MO]
February 9, 2026
By Sarah Motter
Bill faces no opposition as lawmakers move to close gap that survivors say allowed predators to escape justice
Kansas clergy would report suspected child abuse under legislation advancing to the House floor with no opposition.
On Friday, Feb. 6, the House Judiciary Committee recommended House Bill 2352 be passed after hearing emotional testimony from survivors and support from religious leaders.
No one testified against the measure during a Jan. 26 committee hearing.
The bill would add ordained ministers to Kansas’s list of mandated reporters. Currently, Kansas is one of several states that does not require clergy to report suspected child abuse.
“Our kids are our future, and we must do everything we can to protect them from sexual predators. The bill fills a conspicuous lacuna in the long list of those professionals who are legally required to report any suspicion of child sexual abuse by adding clergy to the list,” Representative Bob Lewis (R-Garden City) told KCTV5. “I’m hopeful that the legislature will pass the bill with bipartisan support and the governor will sign it.”
What the Bill Does
House Bill 2352 would require clergy to report suspected physical, mental, emotional or sexual abuse of children.
The bill protects the confessional seal – private communications between clergy and congregants during religious confession.
The legislation would add religious leaders to the list of mandated reporters, which already includes healthcare professionals, therapists, educators and first responders.
The bill also requires training for all mandated reporters by July 1, 2026, or within 6 months of becoming a mandated reporter.
The Kansas Department of Children and Families would provide that training.
Kansas law already charges mandated reporters who fail to report abuse with misdemeanors.
Current Kansas law does not require clergy to report suspected child abuse. There is also no required training.
Rare Consensus on Child Protection
Lewis and Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen (D-Topeka) requested the bill. Lawmakers introduced it on Feb. 7, 2025, and referred it to committee.
However, a hearing on the bill was not held until Jan. 28, 2026.
The lack of opposition testimony signals broad consensus on child protection, even among religious organizations.
Some religious organizations said they already follow these practices voluntarily.
Chuck Weber, Executive Director of the Kansas Catholic Conference, said, “This reporting requirement in HB2352 has already been, for many years, a part of the child protection policies that apply to priests, deacons and other religious associated with the Catholic Church in Kansas.”
Survivors Share Powerful Testimony
Joe Cheray, who survived childhood sexual abuse, told committee members that her abuser was her grandfather – a prominent figure at Sacred Heart parish in Baileyville.
“My abuse started at the age of 10 and ended at the age of 15,” Cheray testified.
She said she tried going to her priest multiple times, but nothing happened.
“He wasn’t a mandated reporter of abuse in the state of Kansas at the time. Had I known this, I wouldn’t have gone to him, but I didn’t know this,” Cheray continued. “Had I known this, I would have gone to DCF.”
After escaping to a foster home, Cheray said she called the priest again.
“He said I should go home and pray that things get better,” she told committee members.
Cheray noted that neighboring states around Kansas all have statutes requiring clergy report abuse. The DCF website lists 13 professions as mandated reporters. Clergy are absent from it.
“It’s too late for me to have been able to benefit from the help this legislation would have afforded me at the time of my abuse, but it’s not too late for others going forward,” Cheray said. “I urge everyone on this committee to please pass this favorably out of committee. Help current and future victims of abuse have one more safety net in place to help them escape their abuse.”
A Story of What Could Have Been
Ellen Johnson, a private citizen, shared the story of her late partner, James, who was the child of parents addicted to narcotics.
According to Johnson, one of James’s earliest memories was from around age 3, when he lived with his parents in a hotel across the street from a Methodist Church in Salina.
She said he tried to wake his parents from a drug-induced stupor to visit the church’s food pantry because he had no more food and was very hungry. They would not wake up.
“He was seen very frequently at this church with his parents, and through it all, even after having been beaten in the head with a baseball bat at age 5, and receiving no medical care whatsoever, even though his little head swelled up to the size of a basketball and he was battered and bruised, no one ever said a word,” Johnson testified.
“He always wondered why no one ever reported the abuse to authorities back then. I cannot answer that, but I firmly believe that given their extremely poor judgment about everything before they got clean – his parents could not have and would not have been able to hide it,” Johnson said. “And if there is another little boy like him today, then if you pass this law, I hope that little boy will never have to wonder the way that James wondered.
Johnson also noted that the bill could help disabled adults who are isolated from other mandated reporters, like doctors and social workers.
“Abusers do not question contact with clergy and participation in bible study groups as much as they question other activity,” she noted.
Religious Leaders Support the Bill
Con R. Howerton, pastor of Temple Baptist Church in Wichita, delivered a passionate testimony in support of the bill. He cited biblical commands to protect vulnerable children.
“‘Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.’ (Psalm 82:3–4) Those are not suggestions; they are commands,” Howerton told committee members. “If pastors claim to stand on the Lord’s side, we must stand on the side of the fatherless and afflicted child.”
Howerton said clergy often serve as the first adults a frightened child or burdened parent will tell about abuse.
“Under current law, in Kansas, many professionals – teachers, school staff, medical personnel – are required by law to report abuse. But the pastor who hears a detailed disclosure in his office is not,” Howerton noted. “That hypocrisy sends a terrible message: Children are not safe.”
Howerton said his church already requires all employees – particularly those who work with children – to report suspected abuse.
He noted the Kansas Bureau of Investigation’s 2023 report on Catholic clergy abuse. After reviewing 40,000 pages of records, investigators found 188 priests in Kansas were suspected of crimes, including child rape and sodomy.
“Church leaders minimized ‘rape’ as ‘inappropriate contact’ or ‘boundary issues,’ quietly transferred accused priests to new parishes, and continued paying their living expenses-even after substantiated abuse-allowing some to abuse additional children,” Howerton told the committee.
In Kansas City, Howerton drew on a 2018 review that found 15 clergy needed further investigation, yet no police reports were filed at that time.
The Diocese of Salina’s 2019 list also admitted that 14 priests had substantiated abuse of minors, plus 13 others who served there, according to Howerton.
“The KBI task force explicitly stated: ‘Practices existed that were designed to conceal the truth,’ including inadequate internal investigations and shielding priests from prosecution,” Howerton said. “They allowed abusers to move on to new victims. And that is just the cases we know of. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of cases where clergy knew of abuse but did not report it – covered it up, allowing the abuser to find new victims. This must stop!”
Howerton concluded: “When a child is in danger, silence is not spiritual, silence is not godly and silence is not righteous. It is complicity. Making clergy mandatory reporters is one way for Kansas to say, with one voice, that our first allegiance, in these cases, is to the safety of the child.”
Catholic Church Already Follows These Practices
Weber said he supports the bill as these requirements have already been put in place.
He said Catholic clergy, teachers, volunteers and other Catholics in Kansas receive comprehensive training and regular updated training in how to recognize and report cases of abuse and neglect.
“The Church’s child protection policies have been highly successful in preventing and responding to misconduct, and thus the Church supports the adoption of similar policies that may help prevent misconduct in other organizations statewide,” Weber wrote.
City of Topeka Backs the Bill
Nicholas Jefferson, the City Attorney for Topeka, submitted testimony on behalf of the entire city in favor of the bill.
“The City of Topeka believes this legislation will strengthen protections for children by ensuring suspected abuse is identified and reported, and that perpetrators are held accountable,” Jefferson wrote.
He said the required training will equip mandatory reporters with the knowledge and tools necessary to recognize the signs of abuse and respond appropriately, helping to prevent further harm.
Lutheran Church Takes Neutral Position
Rev. Justin A. Panzer, President of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod of Kansas, submitted neutral testimony, emphasizing the importance of protecting the confessional seal.
He referenced 2019 testimony from Rev. Dr. Jon Bross, which served as the basis for changes made in HB2352.
“We recognize that everyone has the responsibility to protect children from abuse and neglect. The reason for our testimony is to emphasize the importance of protecting the integrity of the confessional seal so that people feel free to confess their sins and can receive forgiveness,” the testimony stated.
The bill now preserves protections for the confessional seal. Clergy who learn of abuse during a penitential communication – a formal religious confession – would not be required to violate that privilege.
According to Jason Thompson, of the Revisor’s Office, the bill applies to any religious organization leader.
Other Supporters
Amber Delcamp, a private citizen who attended Catholic school and sent her children to Catholic school in Kansas, wrote in support of the bill.
“A priest is much like a counselor, and counselors are already mandated reporters here in our state, so making this important change for Kansans moving forward seems like a smart move for the greater good,” Delcamp wrote.
What Happens Next
The bill now heads to the full House for consideration. A vote has not yet been scheduled.
If passed by the House, the bill would move to the Kansas Senate. If approved by both chambers, it would go to the governor for signature.
About This Story
This story includes testimony for survivors of child sexual abuse. If you or someone you know needs help, contact:
- National Child Abuse Hotline: 800-422-4453
- Kansas Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-922-5330
- National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673