CV NEWS FEED // The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday it launched a civil rights investigation into a new Washington state law that would force Catholic priests to report child abuse, even when disclosed during the sacrament of confession.
The law, SB 5375, signed May 2 by Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson, is set to take effect July 27. It adds clergy to the list of professionals legally required to report suspected abuse, explicitly eliminating legal protections for the confessional seal.
In a press release Monday, the DOJ said the law “appears on its face to violate the First Amendment.”
“SB 5375 demands that Catholic Priests violate their deeply held faith in order to obey the law, a violation of the Constitution and a breach of the free exercise of religion cannot stand under our Constitutional system of government,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
“Worse, the law appears to single out clergy as not entitled to assert applicable privileges, as compared to other reporting professionals. We take this matter very seriously and look forward to Washington State’s cooperation with our investigation.”
The DOJ emphasized that the law singles out clergy members as “the only ‘supervisors’ who may not rely on applicable legal privileges, including religious confessions, as a defense to mandatory reporting.”
As CatholicVote previously reported, Washington is the “first state to explicitly eliminate legal protections for the sacred seal of confession in abuse-related cases.”
The state’s Catholic bishops had previously urged lawmakers to amend the bill, warning it violates First Amendment rights and endangers the Church’s sacramental integrity.
Following its passage, bishops reaffirmed their commitment to preserving the sanctity of the confessional under any circumstance.
“After the apostles were arrested and thrown into jail for preaching the name of Jesus Christ, St. Peter responds to the Sanhedrin: ‘We must obey God rather than men’ (Acts 5:29). This is our stance now in the face of this new law,” Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle wrote.
“Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession – or they will be excommunicated from the Church,” he continued. “All Catholics must know and be assured that their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential and protected by the law of the Church.”
