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| Tim Glende, "SP Schroeder handled the Hochmuth case well." |
SOVEREIGN GRACE MINISTRIES: IN SEX ABUSE CASE COURTS SHOULDN’T “SECOND GUESS” THEIR PASTORAL COUNSELING : Apprising Ministries:
Against this backdrop I bring to your attention today’s Christianity Today story Sovereign Grace Ministries: Courts Shouldn’t ‘Second-Guess’ Pastoral Counseling of Sex Abuse Victims by Bobby Ross, Jr .
Ross Jr. tells us, “Legal observers question whether clergy-penitent privilege applies to denomination accused of covering up crimes.” He says that SGM has “has pledged to ‘carefully review’ each accusation.”
Ross, Jr. now continues:
However, the lawsuit—which claims the association of Reformed church plants discouraged victims’ parents from reporting abuse to authorities and had victims forgive their abusers in person—has also prompted the denomination to cite its First Amendment right to religious freedom.Specifically, SGM has defended its freedom to provide confidential pastoral counseling free of government infringement.“SGM believes that allowing courts to second-guess pastoral guidance would represent a blow to the First Amendment that would hinder, not help, families seeking spiritual direction among other resources in dealing with the trauma related to any sin including child sexual abuse,” Tommy Hill, SGM’s director of administration, said in a November 14 statement.Such a stance strikes some legal observers as more of a smokescreen than a legitimate defense. (source)
You can read this report by Bobby Ross. Jr. in its entirety here.
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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "God to WELS and Missouri - "You Are Not Alone." SO...":
This sect is very antinomian in claiming that their Obstruction of Justice counseling is a Free Speech right that can't be infringed.
