Catholic Church excommunicating priests to comply with WA laws requiring that confessions of child abuse be reported
The Catholic Church has announced that priests will be excommunicated if they follow the new ones Washington State A law that requires clergy to report confessions about child abuse to law enforcement.
“The Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession — or they will be excommunicated from the church,” the Archdiocese of Seattle said in a statement. “All Catholics must ensure that their confessions are sacred, safe, confidential and protected by the laws of the church.”
“The Catholic Church agrees to the goal of protecting children and preventing child abuse,” the statement added, “we are reporting child sexual abuse and working with victim survivors to heal and protect all minors and vulnerable people.”
The new law signed last week by Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson added “cleric members” to the list of experts who need to report information related to child abuse and neglect to law enforcement.
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The Catholic Church has announced that priests will be excommunicated if they comply with new Washington laws that require clergy to report confessions to law enforcement regarding child abuse. (istock)
The priest of Catholic Church Bounded by an absolute mark of confidentiality. This is the duty to require them to keep what they learn in their confession a secret.
The Archdiocese of Seattle said its policy requires that the priests already be mandatory reporters unless information is received during the confession.
“We continue to commit ourselves to protect minors and all vulnerable people from abuse, but priests cannot comply with this law if knowledge of abuse is gained during the sacrament of reconciliation,” the statement said.
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Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed the bill last week. (Getty Images)
The US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has launched a law investigation into possible First Amendment violations. Religious protection.
“SB 5375 requires Catholic priests to infringe their deep faith in order to comply with the law.
“What’s worse, this law appears to elect a clergy because it has no right to assert applicable privileges compared to other reporting experts,” she continued. “We take this issue very seriously and look forward to working with the Washington State investigation.”
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has launched an investigation into the law into possible First Amendment violations. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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The bill will come into effect on July 26th.
Washington is one of five states that, according to Fox 13, does not expressly or implicitly require a clergy to report alleged child abuse or neglect, according to federal government reports. While most states exempt information obtained through confessions from mandatory reports, Washington is now joining a small number of states that do not offer such exemptions.
“This new law portrays religion and is clearly both a government overreach and double standard,” the Archdiocese of Seattle said. “The line between the church and the nation is crossing and we need to come back. People of all religions in Washington and beyond should be wary of this overreach of our Congress and our governor.”