Latest news with #WashingtonStateCatholicConference
Hindustan Times
25-07-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
An Impossible Choice for Priests
Washington state wants to put priests in an impossible bind: Break your vows or break the law. A new law, signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson in May, would require clergy to violate the confessional's seal of confidentiality if they hear about potential child abuse. Failing to break the seal and report suspected abuse to authorities carries a penalty of up to 364 days in jail and a fine as high as $5,000. Catholic clergy in the state sued, and U.S. District Judge David Estudillo of the Western District of Washington blocked the law with a preliminary injunction on July 18. Judge Estudillo ruled the law likely violates the First Amendment's guarantee of free exercise of religion because it denies priests the confidentiality extended to other professions. The state has until Aug. 18 to appeal. Confession is an essential practice of the Catholic faithful, who believe it reconciles a sinner with God. In the sacrament, the penitent admits wrongs and receives God's forgiveness through the priest's prayer of absolution. The seal of confession is so crucial to the Catholic faith that any priest who violates it is automatically excommunicated. 'For us, that's a matter of spiritual life and death,' says Bishop Robert Barron, an American Catholic evangelist who filed an amicus brief in the case. The bishop says even 'the slightest suspicion' that one's confessed sins might be repeated elsewhere is an obstacle to the sacrament. Any law that might discourage a repentant sinner from seeking God's forgiveness would hinder the free exercise of religion. Washington's law is 'the most egregious violation of religious liberty' in the U.S. right now, Bishop Barron said. Washington lawmakers passed another bill this year exempting higher education attorneys from reporting abuse related to clients they represent. For these legislators, sins confessed to a priest don't merit the confidentiality of what is said to an attorney. That 'appears to be a textbook example' of targeting religious conduct, Judge Estudillo wrote. Washington state Sen. Noel Frame, the main sponsor of the bill, said during a committee hearing in March that even if the law conflicts with Catholic teaching, 'I believe they can change their rules.' That's more evidence of targeting, the judge said. Lawmakers knew confession is a 'religiously sacrosanct' practice, and their comments leading up to the bill's passage 'evince an intentional abrogation' of the sacrament. The Church's child sex abuse scandals have made public defense of the seal more difficult. Sen. Frame said testimonies by survivors of clergy abuse and her own childhood abuse led her to sponsor the bill. In January, she said it's hard 'to stomach any argument about religious freedom being more important than preventing the abuse, including sexual abuse, of children.' Protecting children is a laudable goal. But Jean Hill, president of the Washington State Catholic Conference, said dioceses in the state already require priests to report abuse to authorities. The new law, she said, would push people away from the sacrament of confession while doing little to protect kids. 'In practical situations,' Ms. Hill says, 'this bill has the very high potential of driving people who are abusing or being abused away from talking to anyone.' A potential abuser who would go to confession might be deterred if the sacrament isn't confidential. If a victim tells the priest about abuse during the sacrament, Ms. Hill says, the priest and penitent can step out of the confessional, and 'the mandatory reporting kicks in.' If a person confesses to a crime like child abuse, Bishop Barron says, any priest 'worth his salt is going to encourage that person to go to the authorities.' But a law that breaks the confessional seal may discourage potential victims and abusers from seeking the sacrament, eliminating the possibility of such an encounter. 'You don't get more honesty,' Ms. Hill says, 'you get people going underground and not telling anyone what's going on.' More people might also stay away from the sacrament entirely. This 'chilling effect' is one focus of a group of Orthodox Churches who filed a similar suit, says Eric Kniffin of the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Mr. Kniffin, an attorney representing the Churches, says the law could push parents away from the confessional. In Washington, mandatory reporting of 'child abuse and neglect' includes not just sexual abuse but also 'negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child.' The state advises 'to err on the side of reporting,' Mr. Kniffin says. 'It's not hard at all to imagine a parent saying, 'I sometimes see my child as burdensome. I lost my temper and yelled at my children.' ' Would a priest be required to report such confessions? 'It's equally valid for someone to say, 'I don't want to put my priest in a position where he's breaking the law because of my confession.' ' To Mr. Kniffin, the bottom line is that exceptions undermine the sacrament in all cases: 'Confession is either absolutely confidential, or it's not.' The state hasn't signaled if it will appeal. Whatever the outcome, Bishop Thomas Daly of Spokane has made clear that his clergy 'are committed to keeping the seal of confession—even to the point of going to jail.' Mr. McKenna is a Robert L. Bartley Fellow at the Journal.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmaker wants priests to report abuse learned from confession in WA
The Brief A Washington legislator is fighting to change state and religious laws in an effort to protect kids from sex abuse. Senate Bill 5375 would require priests and other clergy to report child abuse and neglect. Washington State Senator Noel Frame has been fighting to include clergy within the state's mandated reporters of abuse for years. OLYMPIA, Wash. - A legislator is fighting to change state and religious laws in an effort to protect kids from sex abuse. Senator Noel Frame's proposal, Senate Bill 5375, would require priests and other clergy to report child abuse and neglect. What they're saying "I myself, a survivor of sexual abuse. I was abused from the ages of five to ten. And only when I told my fifth-grade teacher that I was being abused did it stop," said Frame. Frame has been fighting to include clergy within the state's mandated reporters of abuse for years. This is the first time though that she is pushing the law forward without any restrictions. "At a personal human level, couldn't stomach the idea of having an exemption any longer, and I think we need to go straight to all clergy should report child abuse and neglect, no matter what context in which they learn that information, because it's about protecting children," said Frame. If clergy members fall under any of the listed mandatory reporters already in state law, like teachers, they are already required to follow the state's law. The controversy about this proposal comes from Frame's decision this year to include confessions within the language of her bill. "The Rite of Penance, as the term rite indicates, is a liturgy. It's an act of worship. It's prayer for us. The Seal of Confession is essential to the rite because the penitent has the right to confess their sins without worrying their sins will become public. The penalty for breaking that seal is Excommunication," said Auxiliary Bishop Frank Schuster from the Archdiocese of Seattle. Schuster said he supports the effort to make clergy mandated reporters but said including confession in the language of the law, is a violation of their freedom of religion. "This is a sacrament that comes from Christ, you see. This is coming from the Lord, this sacrament and so, it's impossible for a priest to comply this bill in this one instance," said Schuster. Frame tells FOX 13 Seattle, just like laws, the church can change as well. "If religious communities don't want to put members of their clergy into an impossible situation, then they can change their doctrine and their rules," she said. FOX 13 Seattle reached out to the Washington State Catholic Conference regarding the debate. They responded with this statement: "The Washington State Catholic Conference, representing the five Catholic bishops are supportive of making sure clergy report reasonable suspicions of abuse. However, we do ask that the state respect our right to practice our religion and make an exemption for information received in the Sacrament of Confession. "SB 5375 clearly states that clergy are the only group with a recognized privilege for certain communications who lose that privilege in the reporting context, despite First Amendment protections for the free exercise of religion. The bill continues to protect attorney-client privilege and all other privileges. "We remain willing to have clergy as mandatory reporters but Catholic priests cannot reveal what is said in the confessional. If they comply with the bill as it is written, the priest will be automatically excommunicated. To demand that a priest choose between compliance with the law or the loss of his lifelong vocation is exactly what the First Amendment is supposed to protect against. It is also unnecessary since our priests are trained to move the conversation out of a confessional setting so they can have a discussion with the person in a context where they are required to report by Church policy. "The Catholic Church in the United State mandates clergy reporting of suspected abuse, with the limited exception of information received in the confessional. We recognize that most immediate indicators that a child is being abused will manifest outside of the confessional. What is required to ensure children are protected is adults well trained to recognize the indicators. Not waiting until a confession which may not come until years later, if at all. "Mandating that priests violate their vows and lose their vocation will not result in better outcomes for children. What would help is better training for all mandatory reporters so they recognize the signs of abuse and make the reports sooner. SB 5386 is a step in this direction that will be more impactful and does not require abandoning the First Amendment rights of clergy and people of faith." The Source Information in this story is from FOX 13 Seattle reporting, Washington State Legislature and the Washington State Catholic Conference. Where migrant ICE raids, arrests are already happening: List Oldest running movie theater in WA closing, hoping to relocate Toto, Christopher Cross, Men at Work to rock WA State Fair What are the chances of a February snow storm in Seattle? Here's what we know Is it illegal to warm your car up unattended in WA? Here's what you need to know To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily Fox Seattle Newsletter. Download the free FOX Seattle FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national coverage, plus 24/7 streaming coverage from across the nation.
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Washington lawmaker's push to make clergy mandatory reporters, including in confession
For nearly twenty years, some state lawmakers have tried to remove Washington state from the list of five that do not require clergy and religious leaders to report child abuse, child neglect and child sexual abuse. For the third year in a row, Sen. Noel Frame is leading that effort in the state capitol again. Senate Bill 5375 would add clergy members to the list of mandatory reports in the state, joining teachers and law enforcement officers. The law, if passed, would require what clergy hear in settings like confession to be reported as well. 'By keeping the seal of confession, it hasn't made children safer. If anything, it's protected perpetrators and the thing that could change that would be making them mandatory reporters,' said Mary Dispenza in an interview with KIRO. Dispenza testified to the Senate Human Services Committee Tuesday about her experience as a sexual assault victim. When she was seven years old, she was raped by a priest in her church. She first divulged what happened while in confession. 'The priest perpetrator who harmed me would have been prevented from going on for four more decades raping little girls, had the priest reported the crime,' Dispenza said. The impact abuse has had was clear in the testimony Tuesday. An impassioned Sen. Frame spoke of her own assault as a child only being revealed when she told a mandatory reporter in the form of a teacher. 'Nothing in this bill clergy-penitent privilege for prosecution, that is not the point of this bill. It is merely so that clergy will go to authorities and ask them to check on that kid and find out if they've been abused or neglected.' Frame said. Frame herself has brought this bill three times, each time trying to carefully craft it through the opposition of different groups and lawmakers. 'For those I have worked with I am sorry I don't feel like I can make a compromise anymore. I stand by the bill. This bill has been in consideration in some way shape or form for twenty years. I really wonder about all the children who have been abused or neglected and have gone unprotected by the adults in their lives because we didn't have a mandatory reporter law and that we continue to try and protect this in the name of religious freedom.' Noel said. Noel feels for stories like Dispenza, where disclosure in a religiously sensitive setting could have changed several lives. The Washington State Catholic Conference, the public policy organization that lobbies for the interests of Catholic churches in the state, worries for the livelihood of its priests—saying breaking the secrecy of confession will lead to ex-communication from the Catholic Church, only reversible by the Pope. 'The bill asks the priest to choose between criminal penalties or giving up his lifelong vocation. And that's the type of activity that the First Amendment is designed to protect against,' said Jean Hill, the executive director of WSCC. Of the 45 states that already require reporting, just six of them require those requirements extend to confession, and two more are considering adding it. Hill says the requirement may make it easier for abusers to hide. 'If we shut off every avenue for an abuser to try and get help because they're afraid that whoever they talk to is immediately going to go to law enforcement, we're shutting off avenues for them to have that conversation and actually reveal that abuse and try and get help for that abuse,' Hill said. Hill says priests are psychologically screened, trained, and required to report any abuse they learn about outside of a confessional setting. For Sharon Huling, a Catholic part of the organization Clergy Accountability Coalition, she wants her faith to put kids first, saying the Pope should change the Church's stance. 'My church would excommunicate a good priest if they report child sexual abuse learned about in confession, but they have excommunicated very, very few pedophile priests.' Huling testified.
