Battle brews in Washington pews as clergy become mandatory reporters

TACOMA, Wash. (CN) — Catholic bishops in Washington are suing the state in federal court on Thursday over a new law requiring clergy members to report child abuse, even if the disclosure was revealed during sacramental confession.

“Without any basis in law or fact, Washington now puts Roman 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,” the bishop wrote in the complaint.

The law at issue is Senate Bill 5375, which Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed into law in early May. It makes members of the clergy mandatory reporters of child neglect and abuse, requiring them to report suspected child abuse. Under the law, religious leaders will still be protected from being forced to testify about the disclosures in court proceedings. The law is set to take effect in late July.

Previously, members of the clergy were exempt from mandatory reporting if the information was obtained during privileged communication, such as confession.

The bishops accuse the state of unfairly targeting clergy rather than expanding the reporting obligation to everyone who suspects child abuse or neglect based on privileged communications, like domestic violence advocates, union representatives and attorneys.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle and the Dioceses of Yakima and Spokane have each adopted policies that they say expand their reporting requirements internally beyond what the state had earlier required.

“The sole exception to this self-imposed reporting requirement — based on more than 2,000 years of Church doctrine — is information learned by a priest only in the confessional and thus protected by the sacramental confessional seal,” the bishops wrote.

The bishops argue that their internal mandatory reporting polices, which reflect the reforms that the Catholic Church in the U.S. has taken since 2002, reflect their commitment to protecting children. Despite their policies, the bishops accuse the state of targeting the church in a “brazen act of religious discrimination.”

“The object of this law is clear: subject Roman Catholic clergy to dictates of the state,” the bishops wrote.

In the Roman Catholic Church, the sacrament of confession offers absolution for mortal sins, which, if left unresolved, are believed to endanger a person’s soul. The confession of sins is protected by a sacramental seal, which prohibits priests from betraying the confidence of the confessor. Any priest who violates the sacramental seal faces automatic excommunication.

The bishops further argue that knowing that priests are mandatory reporters may discourage churchgoers from confessing their sins.

“Under either circumstance, the penitent will remain separated from Christ’s Church and from God, risking their eternal damnation to Hell,” the bishops wrote.

The bishops argue that forcing Roman Catholic priests to choose between violating the sacramental seal or facing state-imposed penalties is a “blatant intrusion into the free exercise of the Roman Catholic faith.”

Specifically, the bishops argue that it violated the free exercise and establishment clauses of the First Amendment and the Washington Constitution.

The bishops are asking the federal court in Tacoma to overturn the bill and block the state from initiating any criminal investigation into Roman Catholic clergy for potential violations of the law.

Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle, joined by Bishop Joseph Tyson of Yakima and Bishop Thomas Daly of Spokane, and other prominent Catholic bishops and parish priests in the state filed suit against Ferguson, Attorney General Nick Brown and each county’s prosecuting attorney.

The Washington Attorney General’s office said it is reviewing the lawsuit and did not provide further comment.