Seattle Abp. Paul Etienne, speaking for the state Catholic conference, said ‘priests cannot comply with this law if the knowledge of abuse is obtained during the Sacrament of Reconciliation.’
OLYMPIA, Washington (LifeSiteNews) -- Washington priests will not comply with a new law that threatens to toss them in jail unless they commit the excommunicable offense of violating the Seal of Confession, the state Catholic conference announced.
Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne criticized newly signed SB 5375, which orders priests to violate the Seal of Confession to report alleged abuse. Left-wing Democrat Governor Bob Ferguson signed the legislation on Friday, citing his purported Catholic faith and his uncle, who was a Jesuit priest.
The Washington State Catholic Conference (WSCC) cited Acts 5:29 in its opposition to the bill in a new statement on Monday.
Archbishop Etienne, on behalf of the WSCC, wrote:
This weekend at Mass, the first reading was from the Acts of the Apostles. After the apostles were arrested and thrown into jail for preaching the name of Jesus Christ, St. Peter responds to the Sanhedrin: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). This is our stance now in the face of this new law. Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession – or they will be excommunicated from the Church. All Catholics must know and be assured that their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential and protected by the law of the Church.
The prelate noted priests are already mandatory reporters as long as the information is not obtained during Confession. "The Catholic Church agrees with the goal of protecting children and preventing child abuse," the WSCC stated. "The Archdiocese of Seattle remains committed to reporting child sexual abuse, working with victim survivors towards healing and protecting all minors and vulnerable people."
The statement noted canon law prohibits priests from disclosing what they hear in Confession.
The statement continued:
Once the state asserts the right to dictate religious practices and coerce information obtained within this sacrament - privileged communication - where is the line drawn between Church and state? What else may the state now demand the right to know? Which other religious practices will it try to legislate? Why is this privileged communication between priest/penitent the only one singled out? Why not attorney/client? Doctor/patient? Spouses?
The Catholic conference called this version "extreme."
However, last year it collaborated with chief sponsor, left-wing state senator Noel Frame, on a compromise bill that still raised serious religious liberty problems.
Under last year's proposed law, “clergy [have] a duty to warn the department or law enforcement when they have reasonable cause to believe that a child is at imminent risk of being abused or neglected, even if that belief is informed by information obtained in part as a result of a penitential communication.”
At the time, Frame and the Catholic conference gave contradictory explanations for the bill. Frame told her colleagues that she wanted to go further and eliminate all exemptions but that such a bill could not pass. Meanwhile, the Catholic conference said it supported this bill because it feared that a law eliminating all exemptions would pass, as LifeSiteNews previously reported.
However, while the Catholic conference purports to speak for all bishops, its stance put it at odds with conservative Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly.
“I’m always amazed when, for example, laws look specifically focusing on the Catholic Church, and yet we have institutions that have contact with far more young people, for example, the public schools – where is the scrutiny in the public schools on the protection of children?” the bishop asked during an interview.
“I think this is the wrong path to protect children,” he said last year.
Bishop Daly reiterated his opposition to SB 5375 this year.
He wrote on May 2:
I want to assure you that your shepherds, bishop and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession – even to the point of going to jail. The Sacrament of Penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane.For those legislators who question our commitment to the safety of your children, simply speak with any mom who volunteers with a parish youth group, any Catholic school teacher, any dad who coaches a parochial school basketball team or any priest, deacon or seminarian, and you will learn first-hand about our solid protocols and procedures. The Diocese of Spokane maintains an entire department at the Chancery, the Office of Child and Youth protection, staffed by professional laypeople. We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding child sexual abuse. Our goal is do everything within our power to keep your children safe while we attempt to lead them to know and love Jesus Christ who commanded, “let the children come to me and do not hinder them."
The bill has drawn federal scrutiny. The Department of Justice announced on Monday it would open a federal civil rights investigation into the state.
