More than half of US states have "clergy-penitent privilege" laws, that allow clergy members to not report child sexual abuse they are aware of without the consent of the perpetrator. The Associated Press found that the Mormon Church, Catholic Church, and Jehovah's Witnesses, among others, lobby state legislators to maintain such a loophole, blocking more than 100 attempts to close the loophole.
Compiled from: Michael Rezendes and Jason Dearen, "Takeaways from The AP's investigation into the Mormon church's handling of sex abuse cases," Associated Press, Dec. 2, 2023.