OLYMPIA (WA)
Seattle Times [Seattle WA]
October 10, 2025
By Shauna Sowersby
Clergy in Washington will remain mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect, but prosecutors will not enforce the law when abuse is disclosed solely during religious confession, according to a new agreement filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.
The development comes as the state faces two federal lawsuits and an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The agreement, which awaits a judge’s approval, was submitted by the Washington attorney general’s office and plaintiffs who sued the state over a new law passed this year. It aims to resolve key constitutional questions about how far mandatory reporting requirements can extend into religious practice.
Senate Bill 5375, signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson in May, added clergy to the list of mandatory reporters, joining other professions like health care workers and school personnel. The law, however, did not include an exemption for information shared during confession, prompting pushback from Catholic dioceses across the state.
Just days after the law was signed, Catholic leaders filed a lawsuit claiming it was a “brazen” act of discrimination. Nearly a month later, the Department of Justice announced an investigation into the law’s constitutionality.
A federal judge later blocked the law, days before it was set to take effect.
Many states require clergy to report abuse, but only a few — including New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia — require clergy to disclose what was said during confession. The Seattle Times previously asked the DOJ why Washington was being singled out but received no response.
In a statement Friday, state Attorney General Nick Brown said the agreement respected the court’s decision in this case while maintaining “important protections for children.”
“It keeps crucial portions of Washington’s mandatory reporting law in place, while also preserving the Legislature’s authority to address issues with the law identified by the court,” Brown said.
Jean Hill, executive director for the Washington State Catholic Conference, who opposed the bill during the legislative session, said in a statement that “preventing abuse and upholding the sacred seal of confession are not mutually exclusive — we can and must do both.” Hill noted that Catholic leaders mostly supported the law, but only if it included a narrow exemption to “protect the sacrament.”
Catholic leaders argued the law jeopardized their profession by leaving clergy with an impossible choice: Violate church law and risk excommunication, or violate state law and face legal consequences. Under SB 5375, failing to report abuse — even if disclosed only in confessions — could carry penalties of up to 364 days in jail, a $5,000 fine, or both.
They also argued that priests are already required to report abuse if the disclosure happens outside of the confessional.
The agreement clarifies that the state will not cover attorneys fees or other costs.
Ferguson, who is Catholic and named in the lawsuit, did not respond to a request for comment Friday. He previously expressed disappointment that his church filed a federal lawsuit “to protect individuals who abuse kids.”
While Catholic leaders say the law specifically targeted them, bill sponsor Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, and survivors of abuse have rejected that claim. Frame has said the bill was inspired by a 2022 InvestigateWest article detailing how Washington Jehovah’s Witnesses hid child sexual abuse for decades.
The Archdiocese of Seattle, Diocese of Yakima and Diocese of Spokane were plaintiffs in the lawsuits. Ferguson, in his former role as attorney general, opened an investigation into all three dioceses to determine whether they used charitable funds to cover up allegations of sexual abuse by clergy.
Shauna Sowersby: 206-652-7619 or ssowersby@seattletimes.com. Shauna Sowersby is the state politics reporter for The Seattle Times. She covers the state Legislature, government agencies and the inner workings of state government from Olympia.