SEATTLE (WA)
SNAP - Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests [Chicago IL]
October 10, 2025
The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) condemns in the strongest possible terms the decision by Washington State officials to exempt clergy from the state’s mandatory reporting law, allowing religious officials to withhold knowledge of child rape and sexual assault when learned in the confessional.
“This is a shameful day in Washington’s history,” said SNAP spokesperson Sarah Pearson. “Governor Ferguson and Attorney General Brown have bypassed the legislature to appease powerful church lobbyists. They have chosen to protect the institutional church instead of children, survivors, and the vulnerable.”
SNAP called the move a “devastating betrayal” of public trust, warning that the exemption creates a dangerous double standard. “Every teacher, doctor, therapist, and social worker in Washington is required by law to report suspected abuse,” the group noted. “But clergy are now given a license to conceal rape and sexual assault. There is no compromise when it comes to child sexual abuse.”
Mary Dispenza is SNAP’s Washington State Leader and is herself a survivor of clergy sexual abuse.
“When I was 18, I reported my abuse to a priest during confession,” said Dispenza. That priest never reported my abuser to law enforcement. My abuser continued assaulting little girls for four decades. With a law like this in place, someone could have been held accountable. Other little girls could have been saved from abuse. Instead, our government has given the church permission to continue to conceal abuse.”
SNAP urges Washington lawmakers and citizens to demand the reinstatement of full clergy reporting requirements and to hold both church and state officials accountable for protecting abusers over children.
“Rather than fight for what’s right, state leadership has backed down,” Pearson said. “They have allowed bishops and clergy to dictate public safety and abdicated their responsibility to protect the most vulnerable.”