Pagan Clergy and Confidentiality

In all honesty, even thought it may go against the part of the Rede of Harm None. I think the bigger harm is in not doing anything. In this case the plan is to make a report, and get the authorities and/or groups(shelters) involved. Get this person and any children they may have out and then have the police do the rest. Granted it is still doing Harm, but in all honesty if a situation like this was brought to my attention. It seems like to me Karma is asking me to become one of it’s agents and to do nothing will only cause more Harm.

I don’t believe this, in any way, goes against the Rede of Harm None. A person of the clergy is not doing the harming. If someone winds up going to jail, it is because of something they did. I was abused back in the early 80′s and I had nowhere to go and no one to trust, even my own family wouldn’t help me. I would like to know that someone would fight for me. Besides, would you do it if a child came to you needing help? That child would need to know that there is one adult they can trust so I think there are more advantages than disadvantages. Privilege is one thing, abetting abuse or a crime is quite the horse of a different color!

Actually by law this ordained pagan priest is obligated to report if he doesn’t he could face accessory charges. It’s the same problem the Catholic church is facing right now for unreported sex abuse. Please do the right thing and report this.

Allclergy, no matter what faith,fall under tghemandatory reporting laws.same as teachers, therapists, doctors etc.If you know abuse is being done to someone, then you must report it.Harm none is a difficult concept, however , putting someone in jail for the harm that they are doing to others, lessens harm.

An also if you think about it putting the offending person in jail might do them some good and make them see the error of their ways or get them counseling they needed! I understand your delema I was a nurse for a home health agency and one of my dirty old men tryed to rape me while I was at his home I told my boss but they did not tell any of my co-workers who went out to this mans home to and he ended up raping two of them! I had just blown it off as just another dirty old man with alzheimers an just watched my back around him when I was sent back out there by my boss, but I found out later on from some of his family that he had been previously incarcerated for hurting women before when he was in his right mind! My boss told me to keep quiet and not speak on it to the other girls and I was afraid to lose my job and look what happened! Please do not make the same mistake I did and keep things like that to yourself!

Weighing safety against trust should reveal an easy answer. Though caring out that decision has its own obstacles. You could involve the person admitting to the crime, and convince them to turn them self in without needing to go behind their back. You would also want to be cautious if you feel the person could become violent if they got the impression you were going to rat them out. It would take personal knowledge of those involved to decide that.

Certainly though not doing anything is not an acceptable decision, and the fact that you asked about it shows you very likely feel this way too, which you shouldn’t feel guilty about. In the long run, the person should understand why you had to turn them in. They may even be telling you because they hope you will.

I know from personal experience what can happen when a member of the so-called clergy does not speak up because they don’t want to turn a fellow member in. People are victimized, lives are ruined forever. When people are getting hurt, the trust issue is a nonissue.
Please, find a way to speak out and end the victim’s torment. He/she will thank you for it and you will be at peace knowing you did the right thing for them.

If this is about child abuse/molestation, stop over thinking it and report the abuser to child and family services right now. The greater harm is ALWAYS allowing the child to continue to suffer. This is straight from the horse’s mouth. I am an abuse survivor.

I had come face to face with a similar situation awhile ago , and all my mentor would tell me is that the Goddess demands action and responsibility.

I must agree. Implied in the “respect for privacy” of those who confide in you is the one indispensable civilized value – “no human will prey on another”. To violate confidence for personal gain would be predatory, but to violate it in the interest of preventing harm is not. There is a greater responsibility to the primary value that leads to respect for confidentiality. If that confidence reveals information that someone has been or is threatened with injury, you have a responsibility to inform authorities. Not to do so is to, in fact, violate the value that makes confidentiality so important in a civilized culture. It’s irrational to both respect AND violate that value simultaneously.

A hundred years ago two questions would have made such a decision fairly cut and dry. Is one of them rich or a member of the elite? How will this effect the group/ church? Many would say some of the mainstream churches still run threw these two questions. But as One who walks with Godess the field is harder to plow. No central rule to fall back on. On average independent thought and actions are prized more than right or wrong. Listen to how many see the way to worship much less how to live in our common world.

As has been mentioned, depending on what sort of issue it is, he may actually be required by law to report it. Especially if someone’s life is in danger, or there is abuse involved.

@ Michael – “An it harm none” doesn’t apply to all “pagans” (pagan being an umbrella term that encompasses all non-Abrahamic religions, most of which are not subject to the Rede) and more importantly (even to those that do follow it) it doesn’t mean that one can’t cause harm. All the Rede tell us, is that if an action “harms none” then it is acceptable. It never tells us what isn’t acceptable, or in any way prohibits harmful actions. It’s all about taking responsibility for ones actions, and as long as one has carefully considered the consequences of an intended action, and is willing to accept those consequences, then one is free to do whatever one chooses.

I understand that trust is a very important and valuable thing, but shouldn’t trust be earned? If people cannot give or receive trust from this person they how can they expect it back? If I were you I would turn them in, especially if the person being victimised is in any sort of danger, mentally or physically.

Turning someone in for hurting another person is your only option. We have to take care of the people in our community and our whole community, we do this by making sure that everyone is safe and that which is destructive is eleminated from the community. Sexual, physical, emotional and physical abuse is not and should not be tolerated. If you are clergy, step up and help the person in crisis, its your moral, ethical and karmic responsibility. you took the reposibility to help your community, do it. If you do not please do us a favor and step down for those who will to take over. sincerely concerned. Oakman

I have to let you know that as members of the clergy we are not exempted from reporting crimes. In fact, we are required to report any crimes that are against children. I do not know what the crime is that you are talking about. It could be domestic violence that involves children, or it could be that someone is continuing to collect a social security check that belongs to a deceased relative. I have been a member of the clergy since 1987 and I have had all kinds of people tell me all kinds of crazy things. I have never once hesitated to inform the individual when they were performing crimes that it was illegal and that I would have to report the crime. I do not have to testify in court, and have spent time in jail for refusing to do so. I do however have to report the crime. I would love to give you lots of advice and comfort, but this is an issue that you must deal with and keep yourself from getting into any legal trouble. I was once charged as an accessory because I knew that a crime was committed and reported it and the officers decided that my religion wasn’t real and that I was trying to protect myself by turning in my cohorts.

I remember my father, a christian minister, discussing this same problem at the dinner table. He had no qualms at all about turning someone in if someone was or would get hurt. A lot of people seem to think all clergy are under the same rules of confidentiality as Catholic priests, but they are not. Reporting is the right thing to do, no matter what.

Doing the right thing is NEVER the EASY thing.

To question if its right or not is a waste of precious energy and time to honest. And if this person is a child……GET YOUR BUTT TO THE POLICE!!!NOW!!!
We are all put in a place for a reason, and unfortuneatly the reasons are not always about US. Time maybe fleeting for the victim/victims. As for doing harm….if you are truly doing this in perfect love then is harm is not done.

As you kept the confidentiality of the nature of whatever the action is, I will not speculate. However, there are anonymous tip reporting lines, and as as a mgr of rooming house, I can tell you that if you call an agency that deals with what you know about, if you request anonimity, or confidentiality, they will honor that. Also, whether it is a group like child protective services, elderly abuse, drug hotline/counseling, etc – they generally DON’T just rush right over – but will conduct a discreet investigation first – if there is reason that the suspicion was strongly warranted. Confidentiality will be kept – especially if you call seeking advice or as an anonymous tip. At that point, you are totally within your rights as a clergy member, because YOU are not necessarily in a position to handle or take action on it yourself, and it does keep you on the uninvolved side, where someone set up to investigate or take needed action, and has the backup to do so, may, off of what THEY uncover. But to think that you are alone with the knowledge with possibly no where to turn, there are those out there who you can pass it on to, and they will do it confidentially – no fingerpointing. It’s a very tough spot to be in, but doing nothing will cause FAR more harm in a wider circle -

You knew once you became a member of the clergy that confidentiality is a part of the job. It is one of the hardest parts. You have to honor that otherwise give up being a member of the clergy and report the person doing the harm, or honor your oath then do what you can to talk the victim into reporting it themselves and keep the trust.

I believe reporting the issue is best. The Rede does say to harm none and do as ye will, but reporting it will not harm. If a person ends up in jail it will allow them the opportunity to get the help they need and stop the harm they’ve been causing others. Remaining silent perpetuates the abuse as well as the illness of the offender. By keeping quiet you’d effectively be harming by proxy and giving it sanction through your silence.