OSV News — A federal court on July 18 temporarily blocked a new law in Washington state requiring clergy to report child abuse or neglect without exceptions for clergy-penitent privilege.
The state’s Catholic bishops previously sued in response to Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson’s approval of Senate Bill 5375, which designated members of the clergy as mandatory reporters, or people required by law to report suspected or known instances of child abuse or neglect.
The version of that legislation Ferguson signed into law did not include an exception for sacramental confessions, an exception that most other states with similar requirements for clergy have.
“The Court concludes Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their Free Exercise Clause challenge and otherwise meet the requirements for the issuance of a preliminary injunction,” the order, signed by U.S. District Judge David G. Estudillo for the Western District of Washington at Tacoma, said.
Mark Rienzi, president and CEO of Becket, a religious liberty law firm representing the state’s Catholic bishops, said in a statement, “This ruling confirms what has always been true: In America, government officials have no business prying into the confessional.”
“By protecting the seal of confession, the court has also safeguarded the basic principle that people of all faiths should be free to practice their beliefs without government interference,” Rienzi said.
Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel for First Liberty Institute, also representing the bishops, added, “The First Amendment did its work today in protecting the confessional, and I am proud of the Church for its continued support of the reporting law’s application outside of that context.”
Ferguson’s office did not immediately respond to OSV News’ request for comment.
Proponents of the law argue that clergy are an important addition to the state’s list of mandatory reporters — which also includes school personnel, nurses, social service counselors and psychologists — in order to help ensure abuse is reported to officials. But others have expressed concern that without exceptions for the clergy-penitent privilege, Washington state’s law could place Catholic priests at odds with civil law in order to uphold Church law regarding the seal of the confessional.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that priests are forbidden from sharing what penitents tell them during confession, part of the sacrament of reconciliation, and that information a penitent divulges in that context is under “seal.”
“Given the delicacy and greatness of this ministry and the respect due to persons, the Church declares that every priest who hears confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him,” the catechism states.
Every U.S. state, district or territory has some form of mandatory reporting law. Most states that specifically include clergy in their mandatory reporting laws provide some clergy-penitent privileges to varying degrees, according to data from the Child Welfare Information Gateway, which operates under the Children’s Bureau at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Washington State Catholic Conference, which is the public policy arm of the state’s Catholic bishops, previously supported a different version of the legislation to make clergy mandatory reporters that did include an exception for hearing confession. However, they opposed the particular version of the legislation that was signed into law which lacked that exception.
“For centuries, Catholic faithful around the world have sought reconciliation with God through the sacrament of confession,” Jean Hill, executive director of the WSCC, said in a statement. “This ruling protects that sacred space and ensures that Washingtonians of all religious stripes can live out their beliefs in peace.”
The law was originally scheduled to take effect on July 27. It is also the subject of an investigation by the Justice Department.
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.
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