OLYMPIA (WA)
The Tacoma Ledger [University of Washington, Tacoma, WA]
May 23, 2025
By J.A. Aleman
A new Washington state law brings religion and government face to face in the fight against child abuse, where principles and protections are tested.
Child abuse is a subject which can get everyone stirred up. This is mostly because people can’t imagine seeing someone harm a child in any way. It would be like someone going around and stealing innocence from our communities and that is a big problem.
Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson signed Senate Bill 5375 into law on May 2, which mandates religious leaders including, clergy, imams and elders to report suspected child abuse or neglect to law enforcement or the Department of Children, Youth and Families. This law will go into effect on July 27, 2025.
Taking this at face value, anyone would agree this is a good thing, as no one wants children to be abused. However, there is still the matter of separation between the church and state. This is what keeps the government out of church and the church out of government.
Passing a law that forces religious leaders to do something can seem like government overreach. However, we must look at this as a place where the government and religion need to find common ground. This is about the issue of child abuse and that should remain the focal point.
SB 5375 defines child abuse or neglect as various forms of harm to children, such as sexual abuse and trafficking. Clergy is defined as any license or ordained religious leader and they must report even if they are told through privileged communication. This includes the tradition of the Seal of Confession which is something that the Catholic church sees as a threat.
Most Reverend Thomas A. Daly, Bishop of the Diocese of Spokane Washington, wrote on the Inland Catholic website, “I want to assure you that your shepherds, bishop and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession – even to the point of going to jail. The Sacrament of Penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane.”
Daly added, “the Diocese of Spokane maintains an entire department at the Chancery, the Office of Child and Youth protection, staffed by professional laypeople. We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding child sexual abuse. Our goal is do everything within our power to keep your children safe while we attempt to lead them to know and love Jesus Christ.”
Justice and mercy are two things that must work together for the greater good of society. I remember taking a friend of mine to a court hearing and as we waited in the courtroom, we heard the judge go through all the cases and announce sentencing for the defendants.
I remember that day an elderly man stood before the judge and was questioned on why he didn’t attend any Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings since his last hearing. His response was that he had been going to a church and brought a letter with him written by the minister that stated he was participating in an unofficial AA program run by that church.
After a moment of thinking, the judge asked if he felt he made any progress, and the man answered yes, as he hadn’t thought about drinking in a long while. He added the church was something he really needed to heal. The judge said he would take his word for it but would investigate the program the church offers and let the man go.
His story is perhaps the best example I’ve seen in my life of government and religion working together.
“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,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in a press release from the Office of Public Affairs.
The press release is calling the bill the anti-Catholic law. The federal investigation is ongoing and there have been no updates yet.
Senator Noel Frame (D-Seattle), sponsor of SB 5375 said, “kids need to know that if they ask a trusted adult like a faith leader for help, they’ll get help. Mandatory reporters play an essential role in protecting children, and extending this responsibility to the?clergy,?who play such an important role in our lives as mentors and community leaders, is the right thing to do.”
This leaves me wondering where morality comes into play because this is not a gray area. The appropriate action is to look after innocent children and protect them from harm. This has nothing to do with faith but with what is morally right. Our belief in God is not subject to a rule that can possibly protect the wicked from justice.
A report done by Investigate West revealed that in 1976, Terril, an 11-year-old boy told a church leader that John Earl Jones, an elder at a Jehovah’s Witness congregation in Spokane, WA had molested him for years and nothing was done about it. The leader got upset and no authorities were involved. Based on the laws at the time, there needed to be a second witness for any type of offence or sin, according to the Jehovah Witness bible.
The report adds that Jones went on to abuse more children before finally being arrested because more boys came forward.
There have been people in positions of power in government that have abused the law for their own gain and likewise there have been people in positions of power in religious circumstances that have twisted scripture for their own gain. This is not new nor is it something that just stops.
That is why there must be a place where church and government meet in the middle when it comes to child abuse of any form. I’ve often said to friends that morality is not something that people write down because they made it up. Morality is something that people write down because it’s true.
While I support the church’s right to practice the seal of confession, I stand on the side of morality. The right thing to do is help those victims and stop the perpetrator from committing anymore acts against children.
When justice and mercy meet to ultimately reveal grace, we will start to see shifts in how society can change for the better. There is common ground to stand on and this is one of those circumstances.