Confidant Session Form

Good questions James. If/ when this is discussed in Council, all aspects including the disclaimer will be discussed, and we will find a way to follow legal protocols before we start putting this out there

Tellahane, this will be made into a form like the application on site. At least that is the hope.

Rosalyn J wrote: Good questions James. If/ when this is discussed in Council, all aspects including the disclaimer will be discussed, and we will find a way to follow legal protocols before we start putting this out there

Tellahane, this will be made into a form like the application on site. At least that is the hope.

Ok so this is just a tool to make a template for a form to be created, gotcha, easy peasy

JamesSand wrote: I guess I'm asking silly questions now...but as far as the disclaimer goes, how much does that affect anyone outside of Texas, or the USA?

Yup, something I've been asking myself as well. I think this could turn into some sort of international law minefield. I know for a fact that clergy in my country (Switzerland) aren't allowed to divulge information under any circumstances, including when really bad crimes have been committed or have been threatened - this has been under constant legal review but any attempt to change the law has been voted down so far. The same goes for Austria and Sweden. In Ireland, the only crime that is subject to mandated reporting is child abuse - but even that his controversial and a new law banning this practice has been under preparation for several years.

I think there's one very important question that needs to be answered: which set of laws have to be applied? Those that are binding in the confidant's country of resident, those in the confider's country or resident? US law because TotJO is registered in the US? Canadian law because the server where the exchanges might happen is in Canada?

A disclaimer may or may not be enough to tackle the issue - in most countries, terms of use or disclaimers that ignore current law are invalid.

Anyway, my personal feedback: I believe the form is an excellent idea!


best wishes,

Peter

I could be wrong as I haven't done it, but my understanding was successful completion of the seminary program required each seminarian to study up on the laws of their local jurisdiction for what is and is not covered by mandatory reporting requirements. It would seem to me that any disclaimer could be written in such a way to acknowledge that.

Avalonslight wrote: I could be wrong as I haven't done it, but my understanding was successful completion of the seminary program required each seminarian to study up on the laws of their local jurisdiction for what is and is not covered by mandatory reporting requirements. It would seem to me that any disclaimer could be written in such a way to acknowledge that.

Yes, that's right - and if we assume that the confidant's location determines the applicable law, this could work.

It would certainly be my assumption that anyone whom I was speaking with would be bound by the laws of where they are located rather than the laws of where I am located. Perhaps if that is the case, then part of the conversation could include the clergy member disclosing up front what their laws are?

Would be interesting to ask, for legal purposes, where are you located?

This legal discussion seems a little off the point... many times people in need of confidential support are in an emotional place, not in need of a legal discussion before they can be helped. The clergy are there as friends to the community. When you talk to your friends, do you ask them to clarify the legal position of confidentiality in their country before you begin a conversation, or do you trust that as your friend they're not going to share your private discussion?

Confidentiality is important, but not because of its legal status. In my country confession is not legally protected, but it is still respected, and that should be the same expectation of our clergy. In reality we've NEVER required clergy to specify the pertinent legalities when helping people before now (just to research it in their training, so as to understand and be ready to clarify if/when someone wanted them to), and to my knowledge we've not had an issue.

For my part I'd suggest the disclaimer is no more specific than "Please note - clergy members are based in various countries and therefore the legal status of confession will vary depending on clergyperson's location. Whilst we require all confessional correspondence to be confidential, this status may not be legally protected. As such please use this service at your own discretion."

Yeah because we've been doing confidant sessions for years. I think you're right, tzb. Just trying to make sure the Temple is protected as much as it can be

tzb wrote: For my part I'd suggest the disclaimer is no more specific than "Please note - clergy members are based in various countries and therefore the legal status of confession will vary depending on clergyperson's location. Whilst we require all confessional correspondence to be confidential, this status may not be legally protected. As such please use this service at your own discretion."

^ edited in after your post, sorry