DOJ Probes Washington State Law Requiring Priests to Report Confessions of Child Abuse

Calling the law “anti-Catholic,” federal officials say it violates the constitution by forcing clergy to break the seal of confession.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched a civil rights investigation into new Washington state law that calls for clergy to report child abuse or neglect revealed during the confession.

In its May 5th announcement, the DOJ cited potential First Amendment violations and “anti-Catholic” bias.

Senate Bill 5375, signed the law by Democrat Gov. Bob Ferguson on May 2, requires that clergy report alleged child abuse or neglect, even if information is obtained through religious confessions. The law is set to take effect on July 27th and does not include exemptions from the privileges of clergy.

According to a May 5th Justice Department press release, the law “appears on the face for violating the First Amendment,” and “cleric members” may not rely on the sole “supervisors” that do not rely on applicable legal privileges, including religious confessions, as the only “supervisors” who do not rely on applicable legal privileges, including religious confessions, as well as defences for mandatory reporting. ”

“SB 5375 requires Catholic priests to deeply infringe on their faith in order to comply with the law. Violations of the Constitution and the freedom of religion cannot stand under the constitutional system of government.”

“What’s worse, this law appears to elect clergy because it has no right to assert applicable privileges compared to other reporting experts. We take this issue very seriously and look forward to working with the Washington State investigation.”

The law passed the Washington Senate with 28-20 votes and 64-31 House House. Amend the state’s mandatory reporting rules to include clergy without exception for information obtained through confessions. The bill also specifies that clergy supervisors cannot circumvent their obligation to use religious privileges to report abuse.

The Washington State Catholic Conference, representing the bishops of Seattle, Spokane and Yakima, had previously opposed the measure.

“The Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession — or they will be excommunicated from the church,” Archbishop Paul D. Etienne wrote in a statement at the May 4th meeting.

“This new law is a choice of religion and clearly both a government overreach and double standard. The boundaries between the church and the state need to cross and return.

Supporters of the bill said it closed a loophole that was decades ago and allowed some clergy to withhold knowledge of child abuse from law enforcement.

The Washington Catholic Accountability Project described it as Washington’s “last chance to protect children,” urging lawmakers at the time to pass the bill without religious exemptions.

“This shows the final stretch in the 20-year battle to close Washington’s obvious and long-standing loophole, allowing clergy to withhold knowledge of child abuse from authorities that prevent them from investigating to ensure the safety and well-being of their children,” the group said at the time.

The coalition includes dozens of advocacy groups, faith leaders, and legal groups that compete for clergy.

The Epoch Times reached out to the group and did not respond when it was published.

Governor Ferguson’s office did not respond to Epoch Times’ requests for comment regarding the Department of Justice’s announcement prior to its release.