Arizona Supreme Court Says Churches, Not Courts, Decide What Counts as a Confession

Overview

• The Arizona Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion on Thursday ruling that the First Amendment generally forbids factfinders from questioning a church’s doctrinal classification of a communication as a “confession” or “confidential communication.”
• The decision resolves a civil suit by three children who accused the LDS Church of failing to report years of abuse by Paul Adams after he repeatedly confessed to church leaders; Adams was arrested in 2017 and died by suicide in custody.
• The court said the statutory clergy exemption to Arizona’s mandatory‑reporting law is for churches to invoke and that the clergy‑penitent testimonial privilege (which limits compelled testimony) does not control the reporting duty.
• Survivor advocates criticized the ruling as a potential ‘confessional loophole’ that could let predators escape accountability, while many religious groups filed briefs urging deference to avoid government entanglement in doctrine.
• The opinion leaves limited exceptions for fraud or collusion but is likely to complicate near‑term efforts by Arizona lawmakers to require clergy reporting, so advocates and legislators will face constitutional hurdles if they try to rewrite the statute.