Washington bishops: ‘Priests cannot comply’ with law threatening confessional seal

“Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession – or they will be excommunicated from the Church.”

Catholic priests cannot follow a new Washington state law that requires them to violate the seal of confession if abuse of minors is suspected, two bishops in the state reiterated this week.

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“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,” said Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle in a May 4 statement.

“Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession – or they will be excommunicated from the Church,” he stressed. “All Catholics must know and be assured that their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential and protected by the law of the Church.”

On May 2, Washington Gov. Robert Ferguson signed a law making clergy members mandated reporters, who are required to report suspected child abuse. The law does not allow for an exemption if knowledge of the suspected abuse arises through the sacrament of confession.

In the Catholic Church, priests may not divulge anything revealed in the sacrament of confession, for any reason.

Canon law states, “The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore, it is a crime for a confessor in any way to betray a penitent by word or in any other manner or for any reason … A confessor who directly violates the seal of confession incurs an automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.”

Etienne argued that the new law violates both canon law and First Amendment protections of religious freedom.

“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,” he said.

The new legislation was approved by a vote of 64-31 in the House and 28-20 in the Senate. It goes into effect in July.

Several earlier attempts to pass similar legislation had failed in the state of Washington, due to concerns over religious freedom regarding the failure to exempt information learned in the confessional.

Ferguson, who is Catholic, noted that he has been to confession himself and that he has an uncle who was a Jesuit priest. However, he said he believes the legislation is important to protect children.

Etienne stressed that “[t]he 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 toward 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,” he said.

The archbishop said the new law should alarm all people, not just Catholics.

“What else may the state now demand the right to know?” he said, suggesting the precedent could threaten other forms of privileged communication – such as that between doctors and their patients, or spouses.

He also noted that the bishops of Washington had requested a meeting with Ferguson to discuss their concerns, but said the governor did not respond to their request.

Bishop Thomas Daly of Spokane also spoke up in a statement on the new legislation, in which he stressed that Catholic bishops and priests are prepared to face jail rather than violate the sacramental seal.

Daly said the diocese has “solid protocols and procedures” on the safety of minors.

“The Diocese of Spokane maintains an entire department at the Chancery, the Office of Child and Youth protection, staffed by professional laypeople. We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding child sexual abuse.”

At the same time, he said, “The Sacrament of Penance is sacred and will remain that way.”

Many U.S. states include clergy members among mandatory reporters, but nearly all other states exempt information revealed in confession.

In 2016, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that priests could not be forced by law to violate the seal of confession in order to report alleged abuse.

On May 5, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it was launching an investigation into “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.”

In a press release, the Justice Department said that “the State of Washington’s new law singles out ‘members of the clergy’ as the only ‘supervisors’ who may not rely on applicable legal privileges, including religious confessions, as a defense to mandatory reporting.”

Bishop Joseph Tyson of Yakima voiced gratitude for the department’s investigation in a Facebook post, saying, “I was certainly starting to consult with our attorneys regarding the constitutionality of this law.”

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to included the Justice Department’s investigation of the law and Bishop Tyson’s response to it.