YAKIMA, Wash. – Religious leaders in Washington are taking legal action against a new state law set to take effect next month. The law requires clergy to report child abuse and neglect, even if disclosed during confession.
Bishop Joseph Tyson of the Diocese of Yakima is among the four bishops and six priests who filed the lawsuit. Tyson expressed concern, stating that the bill punishes priests for not breaking the seal of confession.
“Confession really is a chance to create moral responsibility with a penitent. That’s why this doesn’t really create more justice. It just creates more secrecy,” he said.
The lawsuit targets the governor, attorney general, and prosecutors from all 39 counties over Senate Bill 5375. The Department of Justice opened an investigation into the law in May to determine if it violates the First Amendment.
Bishop Tyson emphasized the importance of confession.
“Our people need to be able to have a place of security and confidence to come to grips before God the moral wrong. They’ve done whatever that wrong is. And that’s what the seal of confession provides. So that’s why we consider this really, really grave and serious,” he said.
Seattle Senator Noel Frame, the prime sponsor of SB 5375, advocated for the bill’s passage during a House committee meeting in March.
“This bill is about separation of church and state. It is we have a purpose as a legislature, and we have case law in this state that talks about a secular legislative purpose. Our secular legislative purpose is to protect children,” she said.
Initially, the bill exempted information learned from confession, which Bishop Tyson supported due to the Yakima Diocese’s existing reporting policy. However, after changes to the bill, Tyson views the clergy as being under attack.
“It puts priests in a terrible bind between choosing eternal damnation and being excommunicated for breaking the seal or going to jail to break the law…This is not about reducing abuse. It’s about punishing priests and bishops who won’t violate the seal of confession. That’s the problem with this law,” he said.
Senator Frame insists that children’s safety should be paramount and believes the church can adapt to the law.
“We as a state do not have to be complicit when religious communities choose to cover up abuse and neglect of children. We can establish our laws, they can have the rules. And if they are in conflict, I believe they can change their rules, not insist that we change our state laws because we need to protect children,” she said.
Bishop Tyson mentioned that they have filed the lawsuit and will explore all their legal options. Before the law was signed, he and other bishops attempted to meet with the governor but did not receive a response.
