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President Trump’s Department of Justice is investigating a new Washington state law that makes clergy mandatory reporters of child abuse, arguing it violates the First Amendment.
The state legislation was signed into law on Friday, May 2, by Gov. Bob Ferguson. It means church leaders will now be required to report child abuse or neglect to authorities, and unlike many other states, it mandates that clergy do so even if they learned of the allegations during a confession.
The Justice Department said it would open a civil rights investigation “into the development and passage” of the bill, “which appears on its face to violate the First Amendment.”
In a statement Tuesday evening, Ferguson stood by the legislation.
“We look forward to protecting Washington kids from sexual abuse in the face of this ‘investigation’ from the Trump Administration,” Ferguson said.
The bill’s passage came after three straight years of intense debate within the state Legislature, often spurred by strong opposition from Catholic lobbyists who opposed any requirement that priests report child abuse if the allegations were revealed during a confession.
The announcement from the DOJ expressed similar opposition, noting that the law includes “no exception for the absolute seal of confidentiality that applies to Catholic Priests.”
But in signing the bill on Friday, Ferguson noted that as a Catholic himself, he believes the bill “protects Washingtonians from abuse and harm.”
“I always have a personal perspective on this,” Ferguson said. “For me, this is very clear and important legislation.”
State Sen. Noel Frame, who introduced the bill, rejected the notion that the bill is targeting Catholics, pointing out, as she has repeatedly in legislative hearings, that she introduced the legislation after reading InvestigateWest’s coverage of the way Jehovah’s Witnesses hid sexual abuse for decades and how Washington was one of the few states that did not require clergy to report such allegations.
She also disagrees with the argument that the bill is a violation of the First Amendment.
In its press release, the DOJ argues that the law “singles out” clergy by making them the only “supervisors,” as defined by state law, “who may not rely on legal privileges” to avoid reporting child abuse.
“Perhaps they should read the bill,” Frame quipped.
Under already-existing Washington state law, confessions to clergy were one of many so-called “privileged communications,” which includes doctor-patient confidentiality and attorney-client privilege. The new law specifies that when it comes to making a report of child abuse or neglect to authorities, the privileged communications statute no longer applies to clergy.
But Frame said that isn’t singling clergy out. Domestic violence advocates, therapists and unions — all groups with “privileged communications” under state law — already lose the privilege in child abuse cases and still must follow mandatory reporting laws. Doctors can also be called to testify during judicial proceedings of child abuse cases. Clergy, meanwhile, still don’t have to testify in court during such cases — the new law only applies to reporting information to authorities.
A survivor of child sexual abuse herself, Frame, D-Seattle, first tried to make clergy mandatory reporters of child abuse in 2023.
She said ultimately she isn’t too surprised at the news of the investigation.
“I shouldn’t be surprised that the Trump administration is launching an investigation into a law that seeks to protect children from child abuse and neglect,” she said in an interview.
This article was first published by InvestigateWest (investigatewest.org), an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. Wilson Criscione can be reached at wilson@investigatewest.org.
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com.
Strange a school, counselor or therapist has a duty to report child abuse to the government but has no duty to inform parents. I think the state should take possession of all children at birth that way we can eliminate all child abuse.
I am fine with this law being pushed back on. Religous liberty and the one’s confidence in the confessional are protected and no state law will alter that. More overreach by the state.
No Catholic would support taking away the Seal of Confession. Going against one of the most basic and sacred tenants of the faith is sacrilegious. Ferguson is not a true Catholic, and it is disingenuous to suggest otherwise. He needs to be excommunicated from the Church.
I do not look forward to the day, sometime in the future, when an undercover law enforcement officer “confesses” a reportable crime, just to test if the priest reports it.
In my opinion the Supreme Court has made some extremely regrettable decisions, most recently the Citizens United ruling that corporations are people. They are the last resort for what is constitutional. I will abide by their rulings.
Let’s say a child abuser confesses to a priest, who is not obliged to report the interaction to authorities. The priest forgives the sin(s). The sinner is free of authorities and may or may not stop abusing. If the priest and abuser know the law requires the priest to report abuse heard in confession, the abuser may not confess the crime and not be forgiven. No harm, no foul for the priest. The sinner is unforgiven. In both cases the abused child may still be suffering abuse. If the sinner confesses knowing the priest must alert authorities, the abuser is essentially confessing both to God and the state. A winner for everyone under terrible circumstances. The abuse will stop!
I realize my reply may not resonate with all readers. The truth is, priests will go to jail before they disclose what is revealed under the Seal of Confession which may in fact grow the faith. Unfortunately we live in a broken world where people commit sins against each other, themselves and ultimately against God. Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God’s law; it turns man away from God, who is the ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him. However, the Sacrament of Confession is a sacrament of hope, healing and reconciliation. People who seek it are those who are remorseful for what they have done, they know they have a broken relationship with God. A spiritual encounter with the Divine Physician, Jesus Christ, per the priest, in the Confessional can lead a penitent to make amends, restitution and own up to their transgressions outside the bounds of the sacrament and to accept the consequences of their sins. I am a sinner who needs the seal of Confession to be retained and protected for me and for all sinners who meet Jesus, who is Divine Mercy, in the Confessional to restore their relationship with God the Father. I pray Catholics continue to access this sacrament of mercy. Jesus, I trust in you.
Basic to this new law is just how is child abuse defined? Blatant abuse may be easily agreed upon, but is spanking child abuse? Is spanking once with a hand not abuse, but would a pattern of spanking with a stick definitely be child abuse? I would consider smacking a child’s face even once to be child abuse, but maybe the smacker righteously doesn’t and would not consider confessing it, so the abuse isn’t stopped. Maybe the smacker isn’t Catholic or even religious. To think this new law is going to end child abuse is naive.
But another consideration and related to this is the priestly sexual abuse of children and the coverup. As a cradle Catholic I think that priests themselves receive the Sacrament of Penance from each other. So now a Confessor will legally need to report an abusing priest to the authorities. If this law was in effect earlier maybe the sexual abuse of children or grooming in seminaries wouldn’t have existed to the extent that it did, nor the coverup by bishops of untold harm.