What if someone is sexually abusing a child? What if someone says they are going to kill the president or their commander? The DOD got it wrong when they made all chaplains follow the confidentiality guidlines of catholic priests. That's one of the reasons I left the chaplain corp. As a pastoral counselor I started every session by saying it was confidential except for child abuse or the person hurting themselves or others.
What would happen if say you the chaplain have one of your service members come talk to you, but they talk about harming themselves and (or) other people?
Great question! Title 10 (Active Duty) chaplains are not mandatory reporters for anything. Honestly, though, by the time someone comes to talk to the chaplain they usually want help. 🙏
