Washington State Bill will force Catholic priests to violate church law – Tippinsights

From Jarin CrussonDaily Caller News Foundation | February 05, 2025

The proposed law in the state of Washington will require priests to violate the law on the Catholic Church by violating the seal of confession. The bill will amend this state law requiring law enforcement, teachers, medical professionals or childcare providers to report cases of violence against children or neglect to include the church clergy who hear about abuse during the Sacrament The text of the bill. The priests who break the seal of confession are excommunicating from the church according to the Canon law.

The bill was offered by democratic Washington Sence. Noel Ram, Claire Wilson, Jessica Baitman, Manka Dindra, T’ine nobles and Javier Valdez.

“The state of Washington has no right to force a priest to break the holy rite of confession,” said Tom McLuzki, director of governmental issues at Catholicvote, before the Daily Caller News Foundation. “This is nothing but an attack on the authority of the church, full of anti -catholism, striving to put all things under the state’s own organ. “

Although the proposal proposes a release in cases where information is obtained “solely as a result of privileged communication”, as legal communications with a lawyer, it explicitly excludes the members of the clergy and does not offer other exceptions. The law mismatch can lead to prison.

The new law will apply to any “ordained minister, priest, rabbi, Imam, an elder or in a similar manner, a religious or spiritual leader of any church, religious body, spiritual community or a person performing official duties that are recognized as the obligations of the clergy, “according to the text of the bill.

“This is another tired attack on the Catholic Church,” Andrea Pikioti-Bayer, director of the Project for Conscience of the Organization for Religious Freedom, told Daily Caller News. “No priest will break the seal. No misconduct would be released. Instead of attacking the church, it is better to look at the measures that the church now has to protect minors and help other institutions follow this. “

The Catholic Church has taken steps in recent years to increase transparency and facilitate reporting cases of abuse in the church, creating a committee to help protect minors and track how churches deal with reports.

The Democrats in Montana proposed a law in January, which would similarly force Catholic priests to weigh the risk of excommunication with imprisonment.

Jarin Crusson is a reporter of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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