{"id":52093,"date":"2016-09-30T11:27:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T16:27:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2016-09-30T11:27:00","modified_gmt":"2016-09-30T16:27:00","slug":"how-other-religious-organizations-echo-the-roman-catholic-churchs-rule-against-scandal-a-precept-that-entrenches-and-perpetuates-cycles-of-child-sex-abuse-orthodox-judaism-part-two-in-a-two-part-serie","status":"publish","type":"supreme","link":"https:\/\/supreme.findlaw.com\/legal-commentary\/how-other-religious-organizations-echo-the-roman-catholic-churchs-rule-against-scandal-a-precept-that-entrenches-and-perpetuates-cycles-of-child-sex-abuse-orthodox-judaism-part-two-in-a-two-part-serie.html","title":{"rendered":"How Other Religious Organizations Echo the Roman Catholic Church’s Rule Against Scandal, A Precept that Entrenches and Perpetuates Cycles of Child Sex Abuse: Orthodox Judaism, Part Two in a Two-Part Series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Marci<\/a><\/td>\n\n

How Other Religious Organizations Echo the Roman Catholic Church’s Rule Against Scandal, A Precept that Entrenches and Perpetuates Cycles of Child Sex Abuse: Orthodox Judaism, Part Two in a Two-Part Series<\/h1><\/td>\n <\/tr>\n\n

By MARCI A. HAMILTON<\/h2>
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Thursday, April 29, 2010<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n <\/table>\n\n

This is Part Two in a two-part series of columns on religions, other than the Catholic Church, that possess precepts that have the effect of leaving clergy child sex abuse unpunished. Part One can be found here<\/a>. \u2013 Ed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

In the past two weeks, there have been yet more revelations about the Catholic Church’s mishandling of child sex abuse, with, for example, European bishops forced to resign. In my last column, I described, based on church documents and case law, some of the pitfalls in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ approach to child sex abuse within the organization. In this column, I will address the struggles of institutions within the Orthodox Jewish community on these issues.<\/p>\n\n\n

Like Other Faiths, Orthodox Judaism Is Wary of Secular Authority \u2013 But There Are Exceptions <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

Like the Catholic Church, Orthodox Jews have certain beliefs that tend to create a separate world from which child sex abuse victims cannot escape. The key question with respect to every religious organization that is dealing with hidden, ongoing, or persistent child sex abuse is this one: What will it take to liberate the victims? External pressures from sources such as the media and the legal system can make a difference, but it may also take some re-examination and soul-searching with respect to some of the institution’s religiously motivated practices. The Orthodox Jews are making steady and promising progress in this arena. The ultra-Orthodox Jews, unfortunately, are not.<\/p>\n\n

The Jewish law of “Chilul HaShem,” which means literally “a desecration of God’s name,” warns believers not to bring shame on the community. This is the closest analogue in the Jewish tradition to the Catholic rule against scandal. And, there is the Jewish law against “mesira,” or informing on another Jew to the authorities. Roughly translated, according to Rabbi Yosef Blau of Yeshiva University (my home institution), it \nmeans “Don’t go to secular authorities,” and thus can be used as a reason not to report child sex abuse to police or civil authorities. The law against arka’ot, or proceeding in secular courts, also has presented barriers.<\/p>\n\n

As with all important Jewish concepts, the meaning of each these precepts lies in particular interpretations. According to Rabbi Blau, the prohibition against mesira, though widely honored, may not be relevant in democratic societies. The purpose of the law was to protect Jews from tyrannical governments, such as Nazi Germany’s. Thus, the prohibition was created to protect Jews from the government. The same reasoning does not apply in a legitimate democracy.<\/p>\n\n

Moreover, there are exceptions to mesira \u2013 for instance, when circumstances are such that the religion’s internal mechanisms cannot deal with an internal problem. And a perfect example, according to Blau, is child sex abuse. But observant Jews may not be willing to act in contravention of a law like the prohibition against mesira without first consulting a rabbi on whether the exception actually holds in the particular case, which can delay, if not forestall, reporting.<\/p>\n\n

Yet, the Rabbinical Council of America at its Convention this week issued a resolution<\/a> that would seem to open the door to reporting abuse: <\/p>