Tacoma WA – Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the type of legal ruling that was issued against Washington’s mandatory reporter law.
County prosecutors in Washington state have agreed not to enforce a state law requiring clergy to report child abuse or neglect, if they learned about it in confession. That’s according to a stipulation document filed in the case.
Catholic leaders claim the law violates their First Amendment right to free exercise of religion by requiring that they break the seal of confession, which is grounds for immediate excommunication in the Catholic Church.
There is still an ongoing request for a judge to file an injunction before the law’s effective date, on July 27. If a judge does grant that, it would stop the law from taking effect at the state level.
Previously, anything a clergy member learned through confession was considered…
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