OLYMPIA (WA)
The Olympian [Olympia WA]
August 5, 2025
By Ann Duan
A federal court has blocked a new Washington State law that would have required Catholic priests to report abuse or neglect disclosed during confession, the sacred practice where individuals confess their sins to a priest to receive forgiveness.
A federal court has blocked a new Washington State law that would have required Catholic priests to report abuse or neglect disclosed during confession, the sacred practice where individuals confess their sins to a priest to receive forgiveness.
The law which was set to take effect July 27 included penalties of up to 364 days in jail, a $5,000 fine and potential civil liability for priests who failed to comply with the state’s reporting policies.
The law was temporarily suspended after a hearing on July 14 and an order issued July 18 by district Judge David Estudillo. The ruling stated that the new law violated plaintiffs’ free exercise of religion. Citing the landmark case Wisconsin v. Yoder, it argued that priests would be forced to choose between violating their faith or state law under new regulations.
“In situations where Plaintiffs hear confessions related to child abuse or neglect, SB 5375 places them in the position of either complying with the requirements of their faith or violating the law,” Judge Estudillo wrote.
“In this way, the statute ‘affirmatively compels them, under threat of criminal sanction, to perform acts undeniably at odds with fundamental tenets of their religious beliefs.’”
In addition, Estudillo wrote that the new law would catalyze a chilling effect which might deter individuals from seeking confession, a sacred rite in Catholic practice.
“Additionally, Plaintiffs believe that SB 5375 will induce the faithful in their archdioceses to ‘not seek the Sacrament of Confession,’ which would interfere with [their] pastoral duties’ and impede the mission of the Church to ‘reconcile sinners to God and His Church and save souls,’” the ruling stated.
According to a news release from the First Liberty Institute, a legal institute which defends religious liberty in First Amendment cases, the court also ruled that the bill, “doubled down on singling out clergy.”
“… The new law singles out this specific privilege for religious activities but allows protections to remain in place in secular settings,” the First Liberty Institute wrote.
The Institute also said the Catholic Church is already operating under the premise that priests must report abuse and neglect to authorities, through Safe Environment, a program that offers training on abuse prevention and child sexual abuse. Safe Environment requires priests to report abuse and neglect under all circumstances except under the sacred seal of confession.
“A priest has a sacred obligation to keep everything he hears during the sacrament of confession completely confidential,” the Institute wrote. “The seal is so vital to the Catholic faith that any priest who violates it faces automatic excommunication.”
The case unfolded after plaintiffs, including Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle, Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Yakima, and Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane, filed a lawsuit against Gov. Bob Ferguson, Attorney General Nick Brown and the state’s prosecuting attorneys, arguing that the law violated the First and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution by forcing clergy to break the sacred seal of confession.
The Department of Justice, under President Donald Trump’s administration, announced in June it would intervene in the lawsuit filed by Washington priests. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division wrote in a news release, “The Justice Department will not sit idly by when States mount attacks on the free exercise of religion.”
Read more at: https://www.theolympian.com/news/state/washington/article310969490.html#storylink=cpy