>>512530458 (OP)
This presents an interesting theological argument.
Obvious, from a legal and societal standpoint, reporting sex offenders is good. Protecting kids from molestation is good.
But from a theological standpoint, it could be argued that this results in damning souls that would otherwise be saved.
If you have sinned, you have to confess to be absolved and get into heaven. Thats the deal in catholocism, very loosely summarized. If people who have sinned are unwilling to disclose those sins to the priest because they are afraid of the legal consequences, they won't confess to those sins and thus cannot be absolved of them. As the sin was never absolved, they are still damned to hell for it.
Now, personally, I don't see a *huge* problem with this because if your child rapists are allowed to get into heaven anyway because they got to a church and declared "base!" before the game ended then heaven probably isn't all its cracked up to be. But I can see the dilemma from the perspective of the church, who presumably take the matter of salvation seriously.