Catholic Church Threatens to Excommunicate Priests for Reporting Abuse

Earlier this year, Washington state passed a bill adding clergy to the list of mandatory reporters, meaning that any clergy who hear about child abuse or neglect are required by law to report that abuse to police – even if it is learned in confession.

The law was fought tooth-and-nail by the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle, who said they agreed with the spirit of the bill, but stated they had no choice but to oppose it because the seal of confession cannot be broken. Nevertheless, the bill passed, and will go into effect July 27.

Now, the Catholic Church has a message for any priests who follow the law: You’ll be excommunicated if you do.

Jail or Excommunication?

Catholic leadership says that confession must remain sacred at any cost. That means that any Washington state priests who do hear about abuse in confession will be forced to decide whether they will commit a crime to keep their career.

"Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession – or they will be excommunicated from the Church," wrote the Archdiocese of Seattle in a statement. "All Catholics must know and be assured that their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential and protected by the law of the Church."

"The Catholic Church agrees with the goal of protecting children and preventing child abuse," the statement continues, adding that the Church "remains committed to reporting child sexual abuse, working with victim survivors towards healing and protecting all minors and vulnerable people."

"All Catholics must know and be assured that their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential, and protected by the law of the Church," wrote Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle. “We must obey God rather than men," Etienne said. "This is our stance now in the face of this new law."

An Ally Emerges

The Catholic Church may have a very powerful ally in their fight against the new mandatory reporter law: The Trump administration, which is investigating the law on religious freedom grounds. The law “appears on its face to violate the First Amendment,” read a statement from the Department of Justice, who argued the law was targeting Catholics specifically.

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," wrote Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon.

State Sen. Noel Frame, who introduced the bill originally, pushed back on the notion that the bill is anti-Catholic. She says that Catholicism has nothing to do with it, and that she got the idea for the bill after reading a report on how Jehovah’s Witness leadership in Spokane, Washington covered up sexual abuse for decades.

“I shouldn’t be surprised that the Trump administration is launching an investigation into a law that seeks to protect children from child abuse and neglect,” she stated.

What do you think? The Catholic Church says that God’s law supersedes man’s law, but their hardline stance will undoubtedly put clergy who hear such confessions in a very difficult position. On the other hand, bill advocates say this is a no-brainer bill, and clearly in the best interest of children. As bill author Noel Frame said, “you never put somebody’s conscience above the protection of a child.”

What is your response?