Bishops in Washington’s three Catholic dioceses announced Thursday that they will sue the state over a law signed by Democratic Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on May 2, requiring priests to break the seal of confession.
The May 29 lawsuit stated that “Washington is targeting the Roman Catholic Church in a brazen act of religious discrimination.” The suit charges Ferguson in his capacity as governor, alongside key state officials such as the Attorney General and the prosecuting attorneys of the all 39 of the state’s counties.
Since Ferguson signed Senate Bill 5375 on May 2, the Catholic Church has voiced its opposition. The Civil Rights Division of the Trump administration’s Department of Justice announced on May 5 that it was launching a First Amendment investigation of the law.
Jean Hill, executive director of the Washington Catholic Conference, called confession a sacred trust in a recent statement and said that “any law that jeopardizes it risks discouraging those who recognize the harm they have caused from seeking moral guidance.”
According to CatholicVote, Seattle Archbishop Etienne also condemned the bill on May 5, saying “all Catholics must know and be assured that their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential and protected by the law of the Church.”
Similarly, Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly stated on May 2 that he and fellow “shepherds, bishops and priests” would not adhere to the bill. The bishop said he and others were “committed to keeping the seal of confession – even to the point of going to jail.”
Daly, Etienne and Yakima Bishop Joseph J. Tyson are among the 11 plaintiffs listed in the suit.
Senate Bill 5375 requires that clergymen report suspected child abuse and neglect, even if the information is obtained through a confessional. It also mandates that clergy be added to Washington State’s list of mandatory reporters.
Ferguson, a Catholic, called the legislation “important” saying that “protecting kids is first priority.”
According to the complaint, the Catholic Church already has an extensive network of self-imposed policies to protect children from sexual abuse and assault. However, the law puts Catholic priests to “an impossible choice: violate 2,000 years of Church teaching and incur automatic excommunication or refuse to comply with Washington law and be subject to imprisonment, fine, and civil liability.”
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