SEATTLE (WA)
NewsRadio 560 KPQ - KPQ-AM [Wenatchee WA]
May 13, 2025
By Dave Bernstein
A new law signed by Washington Go. Bob Ferguson requires all members of the clergy to report cases of child abuse or neglect regardless of the source of the details, including the confessional.
The law goes into effect this July.
The Archdiocese of Seattle has responded by threatening excommunication for any Catholic clergy who follow the new law. Archbishop Paul D. Etienne says the Church already has a policy of mandatory reporting in place for priests but it does not apply to information received during the rite of confession.
Etienne cited Acts 5:29 in a statement responding the law “We must obey God rather than men”. His May 4th statement titled Clergy: Responsible to God or State was clear on the Catholic Church’s response
“This is our stance now in the face of this new law. Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession – or they will be excommunicated from the Church. All Catholics must know and be assured that their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential and protected by the law of the Church”. — Archbishop Etienne
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the law, calling it anti-Catholic. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dillon announced an investigation into 1st Amendment violations the law poses.
“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. 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.”
–Asst. Attorney General Harmeet Dillon
Survivors of sexual abuse carried out by clergy members are speaking out in defense of the mandatory reporting law.
Sharon Huling of the Catholic Accountability Project tells the Seattle Times she and other members of the group are deeply disappointed that the DOJ and the Catholic Church see the new law as anti-Catholic. The bill’s sponsor, Senator Noel Frame, says the assertion that the law is anti-Catholic is false on its face by any plain reading of the legislation.
Archbishop Etienne counters that the mandatory reporting law attempts to supersede the Code of Canon Law, which spells out specifically it is a crime to betray a penitent who confesses sin and for a confessor.
The Archbishop argues once the state asserts the right to dictate religious practices and coerce information obtained within the sacrament of privileged communication, where is the line drawn between Church and state? He questions what other information could the state demand the right to know and why privileged communication with a priest in the confessional singled out, citing attorney/client, doctor/patient privilege or that between spouses.