CNA Staff, Jun 17, 2025 / 11:16 am (CNA).
A group of Orthodox churches has joined the Catholic bishops of Washington state in suing the government over its requirement that clergy either violate the seal of confession or face jail time.
The Orthodox Church in America, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, and numerous other Orthodox jurisdictions on Monday sued dozens of public officials in the state challenging the constitutionality of its mandatory reporter law.
Signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson on May 2, the law goes into effect July 27 and adds clergy to Washington’s list of mandatory reporters for child abuse but explicitly denies them the “privileged communication” exemption granted to other professionals, such as nurses and therapists.
Priests who fail to report abuse learned in confession could face up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.
In a lawsuit filed last month in federal district court, the Catholic bishops of the state emphasized the Church’s commitment to child protection while defending the inviolability of the confessional seal.
The Orthodox leaders in their lawsuit similarly argued that Orthodox priests “have a strict religious duty to maintain the absolute confidentiality of what is disclosed in the sacrament of confession.”
“Violating this mandatory religious obligation is a canonical crime and a grave sin, with severe consequences for the offending priest, including removal from the priesthood,” the suit says.
The state’s law explicitly allows for numerous other exemptions for those otherwise required to report child abuse. Washington “is now the only state whose mandatory reporter law explicitly overrides the religious clergy-penitent privilege” while allowing the other exemptions, the lawsuit says.
The Orthodox leaders said they “do not object to alerting authorities when they have genuine concerns about children that they learn outside of confession.” Rather, they are demanding that the state “give the clergy-penitent privilege the constitutional protection it is due as a fundamental religious obligation.”
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court, claims the state’s law violates the First and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution. It asks the court to block the law and declare it unconstitutional.
Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly in a statement last month vowed that clergy would not break the seal of confession, even if it meant jail time.
“I want to assure you that your shepherds, bishops and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession — even to the point of going to jail,” Daly said in his message to the faithful. “The sacrament of penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane.”
The U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into the law on May 6, calling it an “anti-Catholic” measure.
U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon described it as a “legislative attack on the Catholic Church and its sacrament of confession,” arguing it singles out clergy by denying them privileges afforded to other professionals.
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Washington State:
Even before the United States issued its unconstitutional 1973 Roe v Wade fatwa, the bellwether Washington State was already the first society in the history of the world (!) to approve abortion by popular vote (1970). Also, the first by legislative action and a failed initiative to approve the oxymoron of gay “marriage” (2012). The state is probably second only to Oregon in approving physician-assisted suicide (2008). And, second to Colorado to legalize marijuana. And, the first to legalize the composting of human remains (2020). And, identified by a recent national survey as the least religious state in the (former?) Union. (Unless Secular Humanism is now the established [!] national religion.)
In a Washington State public school, and about the seal of confession, yours truly recalls a 1955 Protestant fifth-grade teacher instilling the idea of principled living—by recounting a priest in history who endured twenty years in prison rather than reveal to a certain king the contents of the queen’s confession.
A Protestant teacher (!) in a public school (!) teaching a lesson about the sacramental seal and personal honor… And, today, the radically secularist state legislature is honored with the royal seal of the careerist, dishonorable, and “Catholic” Governor Furguson.
Ah yes, Bob Ferguson, Bishop Blanchet High School”s “finest.”
Glad the bishops are suing, and good on the Orthodox for joining in. We cannot allow these benighted policy makers to continue wiping their feet on us.
Confession is a health-restoring opportunity for many across cultures. Mahatma Gandhi viewed confession as a powerful tool for self-purification and growth. He believed that confessing errors, like a broom, sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface brighter and clearer. Gandhi practiced and advocated for the cleansing power of confession, particularly in the context of seeking forgiveness and striving for truth.