What needs to change in Oregon.

• Clergy expressly named, with the exemption in the same subsection

  ORS 419B.005(6)(h) includes 'member of the clergy' within the definition of 'public or private official.' ORS 419B.010(1) imposes the immediate-report duty on those officials, then carves out psychiatrists, psychologists, members of the clergy, attorneys, and guardians ad litem when 'the communication is privileged under ORS 40.225 to 40.295 or 419B.234(6).' The duty and the exemption live in the same operative subsection.

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• Rule 506 lets church discipline override even the penitent's consent

  ORS 40.260, Evidence Rule 506, defines the clergy-penitent privilege incorporated by the reporting carve-out. Rule 506(2) bars examination about confidential clergy communications absent the communicant's consent. **Rule 506(3) goes further**: where the discipline or tenets of the clergy member's religious institution impose an absolute duty of secrecy, the clergy member may not be examined even when consent is given. The institution gets to define when consent does not matter.

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• Narrow trial-evidence exception at ORS 419B.040

  ORS 419B.040 provides that listed privileges, including the clergy-penitent privilege, are not grounds to exclude evidence regarding a child's abuse or its cause in judicial proceedings arising from a report under ORS 419B.010 to 419B.050. Oregon appellate decisions, including State v. Wixom, 275 Or App 824, 366 P3d 353 (2015), and State v. Reed, 173 Or App 185, 21 P3d 137 (2001), read this as a limited exception confined to evidence describing or denying the abuse itself. The reporting exemption in ORS 419B.010(1) remains intact outside that narrow trial-evidence window.

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• Most recent comprehensive review: no Oregon reform attempt in over a decade

  A September 2022 Associated Press investigation surveyed clergy-privilege exemptions across 33 states and reported that Oregon had seen no relevant bills aimed at narrowing or repealing the clergy-penitent exception in mandatory reporting over the prior decade. The AP investigation is the most comprehensive cross-state legislative review on this question to date. The statute remains settled-on-paper.

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What it takes to close the gap.

How Oregon got here.

• 1987
  State v. Cox applies the privilege in a rape prosecution

  The Oregon Court of Appeals reverses a first-degree rape conviction because the trial court admitted a confession protected by the clergy-penitent privilege under ORS 40.260.

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• 2015
  State v. Wixom reads ORS 419B.040 as a narrow trial-evidence exception

  The Court of Appeals confirms that ORS 419B.040 does not displace the clergy-penitent privilege wholesale. The privilege remains intact except as to evidence of the abuse or its cause in judicial proceedings arising from a mandatory report.

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• 2022
  AP review finds no Oregon reform attempts in the prior decade

  A nationwide Associated Press investigation reports that Oregon had no relevant bills over the prior decade challenging the clergy-penitent privilege in mandatory reporting. The exemption sits undisturbed.

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• 2025
  State v. Dahlin narrows the privilege where confidentiality intent is missing

  The Oregon Court of Appeals holds that a letter on a church computer is not protected because the defendant did not intend it to remain confidential. The privilege turns on confidentiality intent, not the church setting.

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Litigation shaping the law.

• State v. Cox

  87 Or App 443, 742 P2d 694 (1987)·1987

  The Oregon Court of Appeals reversed a first-degree rape conviction after the trial court admitted the defendant's confession to a clergyman who was also serving as a marriage counselor. The court held the communication was protected by the clergy-penitent privilege codified at ORS 40.260. The case is the leading Oregon example of the privilege blocking a confession from a child-sexual-abuse-related prosecution.

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• State v. Dahlin

  339 Or App 736 (2025)·2025

  The Oregon Court of Appeals held that a letter found on a church computer was not protected by the clergy-penitent privilege because the circumstances showed the defendant did not intend the letter to remain confidential. Dahlin reaffirms that ORS 40.260 turns on confidentiality intent: where that intent is missing, the privilege does not attach, even when the communication runs through a church setting.

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Public-record sources UCO is tracking.

Always verify against the underlying statute or filing before quoting.

• Oregon State Legislature· 2025 Edition
  ORS Chapter 419B — Abuse Reporting (current text of 419B.005 and 419B.010)

  Canonical legislature rendering of the principal statute. ORS 419B.005(6)(h) enumerates 'member of the clergy' within the definition of 'public or private official.' ORS 419B.010(1) imposes the immediate-report duty and preserves the clergy-penitent carve-out for communications privileged under ORS 40.225 to 40.295 or 419B.234(6). ORS 419B.010(5) makes a knowing failure to report a Class A violation; ORS 419B.010(4) makes the duty personal to the official.

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• Oregon State Legislature· 2025 Edition
  ORS 40.260 — Rule 506. Member of clergy-penitent privilege

  Canonical rendering of the clergy-penitent privilege incorporated by reference into the reporting carve-out at ORS 419B.010(1). Rule 506(1)(b) defines 'member of the clergy.' Rule 506(2) bars examination as to confidential communications absent consent. Rule 506(3) bars examination even with consent when the clergy member has an absolute duty of secrecy under church discipline.

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• oregon.public.law
  ORS 419B.010 — Duty of officials to report child abuse; exceptions; penalty

  Annotated mirror of the principal statute with cross-references. Confirms the privileged-communications carve-out and the Class A violation penalty. Useful as a cross-validation rendering for the legislature source.

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• Child Welfare Information Gateway, U.S. HHS Children's Bureau· 2023
  Clergy as Mandatory Reporters of Child Abuse and Neglect — Oregon

  Federal state-by-state catalog citing ORS 419B.005 and 419B.010. Confirms that Oregon both expressly names clergy as mandated reporters and preserves the clergy-penitent privilege exception in the reporting statute itself.

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• Associated Press / Northwest Public Broadcasting· September 29, 2022
  33 states, including Washington, Idaho, Oregon, exempt clergy from reporting abuse

  Nationwide AP investigation documenting clergy-penitent exemptions in mandatory-reporting statutes across 33 states. Places Oregon in the category of states with no relevant reform bill in the prior decade, anchoring the action-needed urgency tier rather than active-push or recent-attempt.

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• Oregon Court of Appeals via Justia· 2015
  State v. Wixom, 275 Or App 824, 366 P3d 353 (2015)

  Court of Appeals decision construing ORS 419B.040; primary case record confirming the citation. Annotated under ORS 419B.040.

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