President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice is investigating a law passed in Washington state that threatens Catholic priests with up to one year in jail if they do not report child abuse that they learn of during the sacrament of Confession.
This law requires Catholic priests to break the seal of the sacrament of Reconciliation. This rule in the Catholic Church mandates that priests, as well as anyone who overhears someone's confession, never disclose that information. The law attacking this was signed off by Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson this month.
The Archdiocese of Seattle issued a statement in response to the law, vowing to excommunicate priests who comply with the law:
Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession – or they will be excommunicated from the Church.
The Catholic Church agrees with the goal of protecting children and preventing child abuse. The Archdiocese of Seattle remains committed to reporting child sexual abuse, working with victim survivors towards healing and protecting all minors and vulnerable people. Our policies already require priests to be mandatory reporters, but not if this information is obtained during confession.
The Catholic Church in the U.S. has been committed to preventing sexual abuse for many decades, reporting incidents of abuse to law enforcement and cooperating with civil authorities. In the Archdiocese of Seattle such efforts began in 1986.
While we remain committed to protecting minors and all vulnerable people from abuse, priests cannot comply with this law if the knowledge of abuse is obtained during the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
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This new law singles out religion and is clearly both government overreach and a double standard. The line between Church and state has been crossed and needs to be walked back. People of every religion in the State of Washington and beyond should be alarmed by this overreach of our Legislature and Governor.
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The DOJ claimed that the law violates the First Amendment in the US Constitution.
“Washington State’s new law adds “members of the clergy” to a list of other professionals who are required to report information received in a confessional setting relating to child abuse or neglect to law enforcement or other state authorities, with no exception for the absolute seal of confidentiality that applies to Catholic Priests,” the agency said.
“The Civil Rights Division will investigate the apparent conflict between Washington State’s new law with the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment, a cornerstone of the United States Constitution,” it added.
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