Catholic bishops in Washington state are rejecting a new law that requires clergy to report child sexual abuse revealed during the sacrament of confession — setting up a constitutional clash between church doctrine and state law.
The law requires clergy of all faiths and traditions throughout Washington to come forward about child abuse, including priests who are told about abuse during confession.
However, a priest who reveals anything told to him during confession will be excommunicated from the Church, even when it comes to a crime being committed within their congregation.
Why It Matters
The law raises significant First Amendment questions and could reshape how religious confidentiality is handled across the U.S. While clergy are mandated reporters in most states, the majority still protect confessions as privileged communication. Washington is set to become one of the few states to explicitly deny such an exemption.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a civil rights investigation into the law, with Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon stating that it “demands that Catholic Priests violate their deeply held faith.”
What To Know
The new statute — signed by Governor Bob Ferguson and set to take effect July 27 — mandates clergy report suspected child abuse within 48 hours, aligning them with existing reporting laws for police officers, nurses and teachers.
The law’s sponsor, State senator Noel Frame, wrote the law in part due to practices within the Jehovah’s Witness church that were preventing information on child abuse from coming out.
Jehovah’s Witnesses have an internal review process which is entirely secretive. When taken to court for this, following an investigation into their church, the Jehovah’s Witnesses likened their approach to secrecy to Catholic confession.
Speaking to the New York Times, former Jehovah’s Witness Marino Hardin said: “Leaving an exception in for the confessional when it comes to mandatory reporting would allow any religious group that had a mandate for secrecy to say, ‘We don’t have to report anything.’”
State senator Frame also spoke to her experience as a survivor, saying: “This is about making sure we, the state, have the information we need to go make sure that kid is OK,” she told lawmakers.
Bishops Thomas Daly of Spokane and Paul Etienne of Seattle have publicly stated that they will not comply with the law in cases where abuse is revealed during the sacrament of confession.
“Shepherds, bishops and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession – even to the point of going to jail,” Daly said in a statement.
Archbishop Etienne echoed that stance, warning that priests who break the seal of confession face automatic excommunication.
“All Catholics must know and be assured that their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential, and protected by the law of the Church,” he wrote.
The Spokesman-Review reported that although prior to this law clergy in Washington State were not mandatory reporters, according to Etienne, current internal church policies already designate priests as mandatory reporters for information given outside of confession.
This lawsuit over the reporting law comes after the DOJ launched its task force to “Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias.”
This task force is set up to prosecute cases on behalf of Christians who feel they have been targeted by the government for their faith.
This lawsuit also comes amid the election of the first American pope. Pope Leo XIV, originally from Chicago, weighed in on American politics prior to his appointment. However, it is unclear whether he will get involved in this case.
The Vatican did speak out against a similar bill which was proposed in California in 2019, saying that the secrecy of confession was an “intrinsic requirement” of the sacrament. That bill was withdrawn before it became law.
State senator Frame has said the Washington law is not anti-Catholic because it applies to all clergy in the state, including imams, rabbis, and other spiritual leaders.
What People Are Saying
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said in a statement on Wednesday: “We look forward to protecting Washington kids from sexual abuse in the face of this ‘investigation’ from the Trump Administration.”
The Reverend Bryan Pham, an assistant professor at Gonzaga University School of Law in Spokane, Washington, told The New York Times: “The law has good intentions, but it’s really misguided.”
Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle said: “This law is a clear intrusion into the practice of our Catholic faith. The state is now intruding into the practice of religion, and if they’re allowed to get away with that, where do we draw the line?”
What Happens Next
Unless blocked, the law takes effect July 27. Catholic leaders say they will defy the law, as their choice is either jail time for ignoring the law or excommunication for following it. The DOJ’s ongoing review could determine whether the measure stands or is deemed unconstitutional.
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