The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit challenging Washington’s new law, Senate Bill 5375, which requires clergy to report child abuse even when disclosed during confession. The law directly confronts the long-standing confessional privilege that has shielded such disclosures.
The DOJ’s complaint claims SB 5375 violates the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon emphasized that the law forces priests to choose between their religious duties and legal compliance, stating that “laws that explicitly target religious practices such as the Sacrament of Confession in the Catholic Church have no place in our society.”
The lawsuit intervenes in Etienne v. Ferguson, originally filed by Catholic bishops in Washington. Archbishop Paul Etienne affirmed the Church’s support for child protection but defended confessional confidentiality: “Our policies already require priests to be mandatory reporters, but not if this information is obtained during confession.”
Supporters of SB 5375 argue it closes a dangerous loophole by holding all individuals accountable for reporting abuse. Marino Hardin—raised as a Jehovah’s Witness in Spokane—highlighted Washington’s move to join five other states without clergy exceptions to mandatory reporting. Those states include New Hampshire, West Virginia, Indiana, New Jersey, and North Carolina.
In response, advocates for religious freedom are mounting legal opposition. On June 16, several Orthodox Christian churches filed a federal lawsuit challenging the same provision in SB 5375.
The legal clash centers on balancing child safety with religious liberty. Washington’s legislature and advocate groups assert there should be no safe haven for clergy-dependent confidentiality in abuse cases. Religious defenders argue that confessions are a sacred trust vital to faith traditions and constitutionally protected.
As the courts consider both suits, the greater national debate unfolds over whether clergy must violate confession protocols to comply with secular law, or if religious practices should retain their legal immunity when safeguarding children.
