(ZENIT News / Washington, 06.27.2025).- In a case stirring national debate over religious liberty and state power, the U.S. Department of Justice has thrown its weight behind a lawsuit challenging a new Washington state law that compels clergy to break the sacred confidentiality of confession.
Senate Bill 5375, enacted in early May, mandates that all clergy members report suspected child abuse or neglect—even when such information is disclosed during the Catholic sacrament of confession. Unlike similar statutes in other states, Washington’s law makes no exception for privileged religious communications, and threatens noncompliant clergy with fines, jail time, and civil penalties.
“This law forces Catholic priests to choose between their faith and prison,” said Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. “It targets a foundational religious practice, and the Department of Justice will not remain silent while states infringe on the free exercise of religion.”
The law was signed by Governor Bob Ferguson after passing through a Democrat-majority state legislature. While originally framed as a measure to strengthen child protection, critics say the final version oversteps constitutional boundaries and undermines centuries-old religious freedoms. Church leaders across denominations have called it not just unprecedented, but dangerous.
Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne, along with bishops from across the state, has refused to comply with the law. Etienne and the Washington State Catholic Conference had attempted to engage lawmakers in dialogue during the legislative process, but their requests for compromise were ultimately ignored. In response, the archbishop filed a federal lawsuit on May 29, with legal representation from First Liberty Institute and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
The DOJ’s formal intervention in the case—Etienne v. Ferguson—emphasizes the unique constitutional protections of sacramental confidentiality. “The seal of confession is not merely tradition,” the department’s filing states. “It is essential to the free exercise of Catholic faith. Without it, confession cannot function as a religious sacrament.”
The Orthodox Church in America has also joined the legal fight. In a separate lawsuit filed last week, the church argues that the law equally violates the confidentiality of confession in Eastern Orthodox tradition. The Orthodox Church teaches that breaching the seal of confession is a canonical crime, punishable by expulsion from the priesthood. With eight parishes in Washington, church leaders argue the law would force their priests into impossible moral and theological dilemmas.
Religious liberty advocates say the legislation not only discriminates against religious groups by treating clergy-penitent communications differently from other protected relationships—such as doctor-patient or attorney-client—but also introduces vagueness and legal uncertainty. “It’s designed to make clergy err on the side of disclosure, fearing they’ll be punished if they don’t,” said Eric Kniffin, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and legal counsel for Orthodox plaintiffs.
The controversy has reignited national discussions about the limits of state power in matters of conscience. It has also become a focal point for the Trump administration’s campaign to protect religious liberty, which it now frames as a core battle in the broader defense of First Amendment rights.
The DOJ’s involvement marks a significant escalation in what could become a landmark legal confrontation. Civil liberties lawyers believe the issue could eventually make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, given its far-reaching implications.
For now, Washington clergy remain caught in a collision between faith and law. As Archbishop Etienne reminded his faithful during a Sunday homily shortly after the law’s passage: “We must obey God rather than men.”
And for many clergy in Washington, that means risking the courtroom over the confessional.
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