The Boston Herald supports Mass. Attorney General Tom Reilly’s proposal that penalties for violating mandated reporting laws be increased. Specifically, he wants the punishment increased from a $1,000 fine to a $25,000 fine and up to 2 years in jail.
Okay, but everyone should remember that under the Massachusetts law that included clergy as mandated reporters, everyone who volunteers at a church is considered clergy for the purposes of the law. So, if you’re a lector or Eucharistic minister and you fail to report your neighbor abusing the child next door, you can be hit with the full force of the law. Just so we all know what we’re getting into.
