The federal government is suing Washington state over a new law that some Catholic priests refuse to follow.
Senate Bill 5375, signed into law by Gov. Bob Ferguson last month, adds clergy to the list of mandatory reporters of sexual abuse.
That’s common in most other states — but Washington’s new law also applies to what’s shared during confession, a usually confidential sacrament for Catholics where what you say to a priest stays in the confessional booth. Only six other states had similar laws, a federal review in 2019 found.
Washington’s new law was targeted by Trump’s justice department last month, and on Monday, DOJ lawyers argued it violates freedom of religion provisions in the First Amendment.
“Laws that explicitly target religious practices such as the Sacrament of Confession in the Catholic Church have no place in our society,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet…
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