An allegation of abuse in this church goes to civil authority immediately, before and independent of any internal process. No office here can delay it, review it first, or set it aside. This page gives the rule, the screening gates, the conduct boundaries, and an honest account of what this church does not yet have in place.
The reporting rule
An allegation of abuse goes to civil authority immediately, before and independent of any internal process of this church. This rule is not dispensable by anyone, including the Ordinary, and no office, no pastoral consideration, and no concern for the reputation of this church may delay a report by a single hour.
Why the rule is written this way
Every institutional abuse scandal on record ran through a superior who had discretion. The mechanism was never the absence of a policy; it was a good policy with a person in the middle of it who was permitted to assess first, and who assessed in favour of the institution.
On the Ordinary
An allegation against the Ordinary is reported to civil authority and to the Board, and not to her. She is removed from any process concerning herself by the rule itself, without needing her agreement to be removed.
If you are in danger tonight, these answer faster than we can, at any hour. Nothing on this page is more important than the four numbers below.
Oregon clergy are mandatory reporters under ORS 419B.010. That obligation attaches to the person, applies whether or not the information arrived in a church setting, and is not satisfied by telling a supervisor. Clergy and certified leaders in this church are trained on it, must keep that training current, and are told plainly that reporting abuse is a personal legal duty they carry out themselves.
The clergy-penitent privilege in Oregon is ORS 40.260. This church reads it as narrowly as the law allows: it covers sacramental confession and nothing else. A conversation in a support group is not confession. A pastoral phone call is not confession. An email, a text message, a meeting about a marriage, a coffee after a Sunday Mass — none of these are confession, and none of them are treated as privileged here.
That narrow reading is deliberate and it is published so that no one is surprised by it later. Institutions that read the privilege expansively did so precisely to avoid reporting abuse, and the people who paid for that reading were children. Anyone who wants a genuinely confidential conversation about their own life is told where the limits sit before they begin.
Reports of suspected child abuse in Oregon go to the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline, 855-503-SAFE (855-503-7233), which takes calls at any hour. Where there is immediate danger, the call is to 911 first. The internal record of what was reported and when is made afterward, never instead.
Nothing on this page comes before that call. Do it first and tell this church afterward.
Required — not waivable855-503-SAFE (855-503-7233), staffed at all hours. You do not need proof, certainty, or permission from anyone here. Suspicion is the reporting standard, not proof.
Required — not waivablethe form on the Ask page, or the contact page. Say what happened, when, and whether you have already reported it. Your report is logged with its date and is never edited afterward.
Civil authority first, then the Board directly, not the Ordinary. The Board acts on it without her participation, and she has no authority to receive, review, or close a matter concerning herself.
Required — not waivableRemoval from any role involving contact with congregants or vulnerable people is immediate and is not a finding of guilt. It is what a church does while civil authority works.
A person who reports is told, in writing, what action was taken and when. Silence toward the person who reported is how institutions wear people down, and it is not permitted here.
A criminal background check is a condition of every clerical office, every certified leadership role, and every position with contact with congregants. It is not waivable by anyone, including the Ordinary, and no reference or reputation substitutes for it. Safe Environment and Mandatory Reporter training is required before contact begins and is kept current thereafter, with the completion dates held in the clergy file.
Conduct boundaries are written and in force. No one-to-one meeting with a minor without a second adult present or in a place open to view. No private messaging with a minor outside a channel a parent or guardian can see. No pastoral or leadership relationship converted into a romantic or sexual one, at any point, regardless of consent or age. No borrowing, lending, or handling of a congregant’s money. No counselling beyond competence, and referral to clinicians treated as a duty rather than a failure.
Certified support group leaders operate under the same boundaries and the same non-waivable gates as clergy, because from where a frightened person sits, the leader in the room is the church.
Oregon Child Abuse Hotline, 855-503-SAFE (855-503-7233), at any hour. Then, if you want to, tell this church — and you will be told what was done.
Nothing is saved to your name. Press Esc to close.
If you are in danger tonight, these answer faster than we can, at any hour. Nothing on this page is more important than the four numbers below.