Audio recordings of the meetings over the next four months, obtained by The Associated Press, show how [Utah attorney and head of the church’s Risk Management Division] Rytting, despite expressing concern for what he called John [Goodrich]’s “significant sexual transgression,” would employ the risk management playbook that has helped the church keep child sexual abuse cases secret. In particular, the church would discourage [Bishop Michael] Miller from testifying, citing a law that exempts clergy from having to divulge information about child sex abuse that is gleaned in a confession. Without Miller’s testimony, prosecutors dropped the charges, telling Lorraine that her impending divorce and the years that had passed since Chelsea {Goodrich}'s alleged abuse might prejudice jurors.
The law makes it so the clergy doesn’t have to report it. If the church wanted to, they ABSOLUTELY could have reported it. The church chose to hide it and that response is systematic.
Sure, we should absolutely have a law that compels clergy to report such things, but the church is also still responsible for systematically choosing to enable rapists and abusers.
The Church had nothing to do with Bishop Miller’s decision to not testify against John Goodrich. Idaho’s Clergy-Penitent privilege law did.
This isn’t an instance of someone not reporting abuse. The abuse was already reported, and charges were filed against Goodrich. Because Goodrich’s confession to Bishop Miller was protected by clergy-penitent privilege, it wouldn’t be admissible in court without the accused giving permission for it to be shared. Which, obviously, he was unwilling to do.