Latest news with #PaulEtienne
Fox News
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Catholic bishops vow to resist blue state law intruding on 'sacred' trust: 'Obey God rather than men'
The Catholic bishops of Washington state are resisting a new law signed by Democratic Governor Bob Ferguson that they say would violate the seal of confession, which would result in excommunication for any priest who complies. Spokane, Washington, Bishop Thomas Daly released a statement in response to the law in which he said that he and his priests "are committed to keeping the seal of confession – even to the point of going to jail." The new law, signed last week by Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson, who is Catholic, added "members of the clergy" to a list of professionals who are required to report information that relates to child abuse or neglect to law enforcement, and the measure does not provide an exception for information offered at a confessional. The law is set to go into effect on July 26. A central tenet of the Catholic sacrament of confession is that priests are bound by an absolute seal of confidentiality, an obligation that requires them to keep anything learned in confession a secret. Violating this tenet results in what is called "excommunication," which cuts a person off from the church and eternal life, according to Catholic teaching. While Daly said that his diocese has a zero-tolerance policy regarding child sexual abuse and that the church would "do everything within our power to keep your children safe," he said the "Sacrament of Penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane." Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne framed the issue as a question of whether the clergy is "answerable to God or state." He quoted a scripture passage that reads, "We must obey God rather than men." "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," said Etienne, adding: "All Catholics must know and be assured that their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential and protected by the law of the Church." Etienne said that the law cuts to the heart of the First Amendment's ban on the state either establishing or prohibiting the free exercise of a religion. "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?" asked the archbishop. On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division opened an investigation into the law for possible violations of the First Amendment's religious protections. A statement by the division said that the new law "singles out 'members of the clergy' as the only 'supervisors' who may not rely on applicable legal privileges, including religious confessions, as a defense to mandatory reporting." "The law appears to single out clergy as not entitled to assert applicable privileges, as compared to other reporting professionals," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "We take this matter very seriously and look forward to Washington State's cooperation with our investigation," said Dhillon. Bishop Joseph Tyson of Yakima, Washington, posted on Facebook that he was grateful for the Justice Department's investigation, saying that the bishops' attempts to meet with the governor about the law had gone unanswered. "I realize that many may disagree but in a way that parallels attorney client privilege, the seal of confession allows the penitent to come to grips with moral accountability and culpability," said Tyson. "We want to hope and pray that the heart of an offender would be so moved by the mercy of God and the guidance of the skilled clergy that it would necessarily lead to an encounter beyond the sacramental seal with law enforcement." Ferguson did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Fox News Digital's Landon Mion contributed to this article.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spokane and Seattle bishops say they won't comply with new mandatory reporting for child abuse if information obtained in confessions
May 7—The Catholic bishops in Spokane and Seattle have told parishioners they will not fully comply with a new Washington law that requires clergy to report sexual abuse to police, similar to teachers, police officers and other professionals. Catholic leaders say that priests who hear confessions are obligated to keep those confessions secret, but that they are supportive of the rule outside of the Catholic sacrament of confession. The U.S. Department of Justice announced this week that it has opened an investigation into the law, alleging that it "appears on its face to violate the First Amendment." In separate statements, Thomas Daly, bishop of Spokane, said "shepherds, bishops and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession — even to the point of going to jail," and Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle said those who break the seal of confession face excommunication 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," Etienne wrote. Gov. Bob Ferguson signed the law Friday that will take effect on July 27. Washington is one of five states that does not designate clergy as mandatory reporters, but most states exempt the sacrament of confession. Under current state law, a variety of other professions that frequently interact with children, including police officers, nurses and school personnel, are required to report incidents of suspected abuse within 48 hours, with failure to do so considered a gross misdemeanor. In a statement Monday, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the law "demands that Catholic Priests violate their deeply held faith in order to obey the law, a violation of the Constitution and a breach of the free exercise of religion cannot stand under our Constitutional system of government." In a statement Wednesday, Ferguson said, "We look forward to protecting Washington kids from sexual abuse in the face of this 'investigation' from the Trump Administration." The legislation Ferguson signed does not include an exemption for the information learned during penitential communication, or communication between clergy and a congregation member, such as in the confession of sins. Daly said in a statement Friday that 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 firsthand about our solid protocols and procedures," Daly wrote. According to Daly, the Diocese of Spokane maintains a department called the Office of Child and Youth Protection and has a zero-tolerance policy for child sex abuse. On Sunday, Etienne said the first reading from that day's Mass 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)," Etienne wrote. "This is our stance now in the face of this new law." In a statement, Etienne cited two chapters of Canon Law, which state in part that "The sacramental seal is inviolable" and that a "confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal incurs a latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication." According to Etienne, current church policies already designate priests as mandatory reporters, unless the information is obtained during confession. "While we remain committed to protecting minors and all vulnerable people from abuse, priests cannot comply with this law if the knowledge of abuse is obtained during the Sacrament of Reconciliation," Etienne wrote. According to Etienne, the Washington State Catholic Conference staff discussed the proposal with legislators during the session. However, "efforts to collaborate on an amicable solution eventually failed this session, ushering this most extreme version of the bill to pass." Once passed, the bishops of the state of Washington requested a meeting to discuss the legislation with Ferguson, who, according to Etienne, did not respond. As he signed the bill into law on Friday, Ferguson said it "protects Washingtonians from abuse and harm." A Catholic, Ferguson said his uncle served as a Jesuit priest "for many, many, many years here in the Pacific Northwest." "I obviously have a personal perspective on this," Ferguson said. "But protecting our kids first is the most important thing." Ferguson added that the need for the law was "very clear" and that it was "very important legislation." Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, the bill's sponsor, introduced similar legislation in both 2023 and 2024. In 2023, a proposal that did not contain an exemption for confidential penitential communication failed. The version proposed by Frame last year would have established a "duty to warn" for abuse disclosed in penitential communication, though that, too, failed. Ahead of a vote in the Senate, Frame told lawmakers that the bill is about "checking on the child." "This is about making sure we, the state, have the information we need to go make sure that kid is OK," Frame said. "What our mandatory reporter laws do is, it compels our Department of Children, Youth and Families or law enforcement to further investigate and substantiate that report, but in the meantime, make sure that child is safe."
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Holy Rosary Church still at risk of demolition. Here's where things stand now
As cardinals of the Catholic Church make their way to Rome to choose the next pope, a choice over what to do with a historical church looms over Tacoma. The Church of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary would need costly repairs to function again. Everyone at least agrees about that. But from there things get complicated. A local group made an offer to purchase and run the church in 2024, but the local parish and the Archdiocese of Seattle has turned them down. Archbishop Paul Etienne decreed again in March that the Holy Rosary will be relegated to 'profane, but not sordid' use. That would decommission the church and make it possible to sell the property, and for a wrecking crew to take down the 104-year-old Gothic-style local landmark. Some local Catholics have made it clear they want to stop a potential demolition. They've raised funds and formed a legal entity that could purchase the property. They already appealed to the Vatican once and submitted their proposal to the local parish and the Archdiocese. As they did the last time the Archdiocese made this decree, they've now appealed to the Vatican again. The church is an eye-catching feature of the Tacoma skyline, and the prospect of losing it brought out strong reactions in Catholics and non-Catholics alike when the parish's plans first came to light in 2019. Even Mayor Victoria Woodards chimed in, pledging to help in what way she can. But the fate of the church isn't up to local government. Historical landmark laws don't apply to properties owned by religious organizations, and regional Catholic leadership has the authority to decide. Any arguments against those decisions are based in the Catholic Church's canon law, the same opaque set of rules and norms clerics will follow when choosing a replacement for Pope Francis. The local disagreement over whether Holy Rosary can or should go on as a church (and above all stay standing) is thorny. No one seems to agree on how valuable the property is. Or how extensive or costly repairs to the church would be. Or even what the process is for transferring the church to a lay organization. It's enough to make status updates from the Papal conclave, which are delivered through a chimney using different colors of smoke, seem straightforward. Tacoma Catholic Jack Connelly created a legal entity, Domus Dei Porta Coeli LLC, to buy the Holy Rosary property. Working with fundraisers for Save Tacoma's Landmark Church, he wants to purchase the property, fix up the church and eventually convert the surrounding property into a Catholic cultural center. The church would still serve as a place of worship in this plan, but it wouldn't have a dedicated priest or weekly services. The surrounding property could include gardens with Catholic statuary designed for contemplation. The parish, called the Parish of Saint John Paul XXII, and the Archbishop in Seattle didn't go for it, saying the offer wasn't workable. Connelly believes that the Archdiocese of Seattle wants to get more money for the property by making it possible to raze the church, which Etienne's decree does. He also thinks that strategy isn't going to make as much money as the Catholic leadership might hope. It costs money to raze a church. For its part, the Archdiocese has pointed to the millions of dollars it would take to restore the church. They estimate a price tag of $17 million or more. Archdiocese chief communications officer Helen McClenahan emphasized that the decision came from the parish in Tacoma, and not as a top-down order from leadership in Seattle. That decision came after engagement with the community, including Connelly's group, and a lot of 'prayer and discernment,' she added. While the church is historic, Catholics in Tacoma are part of the present. As much as it might be a beautiful part of the skyline, it's also supposed to serve the needs of the parish, McClenahan said, and that's no longer possible. Connelly disputes the Archdiocese's stance. The $17 million price estimate includes a list of nice-to-have things that aren't related to getting the building up to code, he said. For example, a new HVAC system would be nice, but he's willing to put up with the archaic boiler system if it means saving the church. Without knowing all of the many (many) details of the property's condition and what the law requires, it's hard to say whether Connelly and his cohorts have a viable plan. It is clear that many Tacomans want to keep the church intact. Catholics see it not only as a holy place where they've celebrated first communions, weddings and funerals, but as a way to attract people to their faith. But what that would look like, and the path to making it happen, is anything but clear.
