SEATTLE (WA)
Washington State Standard [Olympia, WA]
October 10, 2025
By Jerry Cornfield
Clergy must still tell authorities of potential mistreatment, but will not have to divulge information they hear in confession, under a settlement of lawsuits challenging the requirement.
Washington has abandoned its effort to force Catholic priests and other religious leaders to divulge information on child abuse and neglect they learn of in confession.
With a pair of legal filings, the state agreed not to enforce the controversial provision of a new state law that adds clergy to a list of professions that must report to law enforcement when they have “reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect.”
Stipulations filed in federal court on Friday will largely preserve the law, while casting aside the controversial component related to confessions. Catholic bishops and Orthodox churches sued over that element, arguing it was unconstitutional.
The agreements the state reached in those cases reflect the preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge that has prevented the state and counties from enforcing the confessional reporting provision since the law took effect July 27.
Lawmakers approved the law during this year’s legislative session, and Gov. Bob Ferguson signed it in May.
The Trump administration had also weighed in on the case, siding with the churches.
In the case brought by three Catholic bishops, U.S. District Court Chief Judge David G. Estudillo ruled that requiring disclosures on information learned in confession infringed on their First Amendment right to practice religion and would force priests to violate their sacred vows or face punishment by the state.
State attorneys concluded that, given the judge’s reasoning, settling the legal fights now was the best possible outcome.
“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,” Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement.
Catholic leaders and their lawyers celebrated the legal victory.
“Preventing abuse and upholding the sacred seal of confession are not mutually exclusive — we can and must do both,” said Jean Hill, executive director of the Washington State Catholic Conference.
“That’s why the Church supported the law’s goal from the beginning and only asked for a narrow exemption to protect the sacrament,” she said. “We’re grateful the state ultimately recognized it can prevent abuse without forcing priests to violate their sacred vows.”
Mark Rienzi, president and CEO of Becket, one of several firms involved in the case, called the state’s decision to settle “a victory for religious freedom and for common sense. Priests should never be forced to make the impossible choice of betraying their sacred vows or going to jail.”
But a leader of a group that works to assist individuals abused by clergy members criticized the outcome.
“There are some fights worth fighting for. This is one of them,” said Mary Dispenza of the Catholic Accountability Project. “Priests are not above the law. This secrecy or ‘priest privilege’ fails children and keeps perpetrators safe — able to molest and assault children again and again. The federal judge who blocked [Senate Bill] 5375 is putting the law above the life and protection of children.”
Senate Bill 5375 added clergy to the state’s list of individuals legally required to report suspected child abuse to law enforcement or the Department of Children, Youth and Families.
A “member of the clergy” is defined in the legislation to cover any regularly licensed, accredited, or ordained minister, priest, rabbi, imam, elder, or similarly positioned religious or spiritual leader.
The three bishops filed their lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Tacoma in May, naming Ferguson, Brown and the prosecuting attorney in each of Washington’s 39 counties as defendants. The Orthodox Church in America, along with other churches and individual priests, filed a similar case in federal court in Spokane in June.
Both cases and stipulations are now in front of Judge Estudillo in Tacoma. If he signs both orders, they will go into effect and the cases will end.
The stipulations do not require any action by the Legislature, said Mike Faulk, deputy communications director for Attorney General Brown. It does not foreclose lawmakers addressing pieces of the law the court found problematic if they want, he said.
Ferguson, a Catholic, has said requiring disclosures about information learned in confession did not give him pause and he was disappointed his church was suing “to protect individuals who abuse kids.” State attorneys consulted the governor before deciding to file stipulations in each case.
Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, wrote the new law, which represents years of effort to add clergy to the state’s list of mandatory reporters.
“My goal all along with this bill has just been to protect children, and I hope that closing the book on this lawsuit allows for that to happen,” she said in an email.
“Children need to know that when they go to a trusted adult in their life to ask for help, like a member of the clergy, they get help,” Frame said. “That’s how we break the cycle of abuse and do better by our next generation.”
Jerry Cornfield joined the Standard after 20 years covering Olympia statehouse news for The Everett Herald. Earlier in his career, he worked for daily and weekly papers in Santa Barbara, California.
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
jcornfield@washingtonstatestandard.com