The Catholic bishops of Washington state are resisting a new law signed by Democratic Governor Bob Ferguson that they say would violate the seal of confession, which would result in excommunication for any priest who complies.
Spokane, Washington, Bishop Thomas Daly released a statement in response to the law in which he said that he and his priests “are committed to keeping the seal of confession – even to the point of going to jail.”
The new law, signed last week by Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson, who is Catholic, added “members of the clergy” to a list of professionals who are required to report information that relates to child abuse or neglect to law enforcement, and the measure does not provide an exception for information offered at a confessional. The law is set to go into effect on July 26.
A central tenet of the Catholic sacrament of confession is that priests are bound by an absolute seal of confidentiality, an obligation that requires them to keep anything learned in confession a secret. Violating this tenet results in what is called “excommunication,” which cuts a person off from the church and eternal life, according to Catholic teaching.
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While Daly said that his diocese has a zero-tolerance policy regarding child sexual abuse and that the church would “do everything within our power to keep your children safe,” he said the “Sacrament of Penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane.”
Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne framed the issue as a question of whether the clergy is “answerable to God or state.”
He quoted a scripture passage that reads, “We must obey God rather than men.”
“This is our stance now in the face of this new law. Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession – or they will be excommunicated from the Church,” said Etienne, adding: “All Catholics must know and be assured that their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential and protected by the law of the Church.”
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Etienne said that the law cuts to the heart of the First Amendment’s ban on the state either establishing or prohibiting the free exercise of a religion.
“Once the state asserts the right to dictate religious practices and coerce information obtained within this sacrament – privileged communication – where is the line drawn between Church and state? What else may the state now demand the right to know? Which other religious practices will it try to legislate?” asked the archbishop.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division opened an investigation into the law for possible violations of the First Amendment’s religious protections.
A statement by the division said that the 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.”
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“The law appears to single out clergy as not entitled to assert applicable privileges, as compared to other reporting professionals,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“We take this matter very seriously and look forward to Washington State’s cooperation with our investigation,” said Dhillon.
Bishop Joseph Tyson of Yakima, Washington, posted on Facebook that he was grateful for the Justice Department’s investigation, saying that the bishops’ attempts to meet with the governor about the law had gone unanswered.
“I realize that many may disagree but in a way that parallels attorney client privilege, the seal of confession allows the penitent to come to grips with moral accountability and culpability,” said Tyson. “We want to hope and pray that the heart of an offender would be so moved by the mercy of God and the guidance of the skilled clergy that it would necessarily lead to an encounter beyond the sacramental seal with law enforcement.”
Ferguson did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this article.
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