Pastors Who Don’t Report
Pastors Daniel and Laura McCluskey from the Church on the Word in Phoenix have been arrested. The pastors were both arrested Tuesday and booked on one count each of failure to report sexual abuse. One victim of incestuous abuse disclosed to them in 2008. The pastors confronted the abusive father who admitted his abuse of his daughter but was “repentant.” The pastors counseled the victim to “forgive” her father and restore the relationship. The father allegedly stopped abusing this daughter (who then moved out) but continued to molest her younger sister.
Pastors Daniel and Laura McCluskey from the Church on the Word in Phoenix have been arrested. The pastors were both arrested Tuesday and booked on one count each of failure to report sexual abuse.
One victim of incestuous abuse disclosed to them in 2008. The pastors confronted the abusive father who admitted his abuse of his daughter but was “repentant.” The pastors counseled the victim to “forgive” her father and restore the relationship. The father allegedly stopped abusing this daughter (who then moved out) but continued to molest her younger sister. This sister has now recently disclosed to a neighbor who subsequently reported the abuse to law enforcement.
There are two issues at stake here. First, in Arizona clergy are mandated reporters along with teachers, doctors, etc. because sexual abuse of a child is a crime. Secondly, regardless of the law mandating reporting by clergy (this differs from state to state), we strongly urge that clergy report any disclosure of sexual abuse of a child--because none of us have the capacity to handle these situations in isolation and without outside collaborative intervention. Professionals to whom sexual abuse is disclosed need help in protecting a child and holding an abuser accountable.
I have heard this story over and over. Well-meaning but misguided clergy who try to deal with child sexual abuse in-house. I have come to realize that this represents, as a colleague of mine once said, savage ignorance with dreadful and unnecessary consequences for victims.
My predictions: This church and many others will come to their pastors’ defense and argue that the mandatory reporting law violates their First Amendment rights to religious freedom. There will be a long, drawn out court battle and, within this process, the fact that a child was sexually abused for two years, after the abuse was disclosed to the pastors, will be lost in the hot air generated by the trial.
Let this be a wake-up call for spiritual leaders: we need the help of our secular colleagues to work in concert with our pastoral guidance to stop sex offenders.
I can never forget the night I sat with a group of incest offenders in treatment, most of whom were active Christians, and listened to each one recount going to his pastor after arrest and confessing. And each one was sent home with a prayer and “forgiven.” They said, “Please don’t forgive us so quickly. It was the worst thing our pastors did. Because it meant we could continue to avoid responsibility.” Their witness is a powerful reminder to clergy of the limits of our resources and the breadth of our responsibility to protect children. Generally this means we need to report disclosures of child abuse.
Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune
FaithTrust Institute
www.faithtrustinstitute.org
pastors not reporting