Overview

• The Justice Department filed a complaint in intervention on June 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, arguing SB 5375 violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments.
• Senate Bill 5375, approved May 2 and slated to take effect July 27, requires all clergy to report suspected child abuse heard during confessionals, punishable by up to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine.
• Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the law singles out the Catholic sacrament of confession and treats priest-penitent privilege differently from other protected confidentiality privileges.
• Catholic Archbishop Paul Etienne and groups including the First Liberty Institute and Becket Fund have already sued to block the law, warning priests face excommunication if they comply and criminal charges if they refuse.
• The Orthodox Church in America has raised similar concerns over sacramental secrecy and says the court’s ruling will shape how religious freedom and child-protection mandates intersect nationwide.