A longer version of this article appeared in the Washington State Standard.
Catholic priests in Washington cannot be required to report child abuse or neglect they learn of in confession, a federal judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Court Chief Judge David G. Estudillo granted a preliminary injunction, sought by three Catholic bishops, temporarily blocking enforcement of a controversial element in a new state law, SB 5375, set to take effect July 27.
Estudillo ruled that requiring disclosure of information priests hear in the confessional infringes on their First Amendment right to practice religion and will force them to violate their sacred vows or face punishment by the state.
SB 5375 added clergy to the state’s roster of professions that must report to law enforcement when they have “reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect.”
But the state, Estudillo ruled, cannot require Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle, Bishop Joseph Tyson of Yakima and Bishop Thomas Daly of Spokane — the three who filed the suit — or any Catholic priest in Washington under their direction to disclose such information they hear in confession.
The legislation “places them in the position of either complying with the requirements of their faith or violating the law. The consequences for violating the law are serious and, as Plaintiffs assert, the implications of violating the Sacramental Seal are more serious still,” Estudillo wrote.
Attorney General Nick Brown’s office emphasized that the ruling applies only to “the Sacrament of Confession,” and that if clergy learn about abuse in any other setting, the injunction does not change — they will be mandated reporters.
Attorneys for the bishops have argued the law treats Catholic priests, and the religious activity of confession, differently from other professions that involve confidential conversations. They pointed to House Bill 1171, which also takes effect July 27.
That law exempts attorneys employed by public or private higher-education institutions, and employees under their supervision, from their mandatory reporting obligations if the information obtained is related to the representation of a client.
Estudillo agreed, ruling that this undermined the state’s argument that it was not singling out the church practice.
“Ultimately, Washington’s failure to demonstrate why it has an interest of the highest order in denying an exemption to clergy while making such exemptions available to other professionals who work with underserved children … is likely fatal” to the law, the judge wrote.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice sought to join the legal fight as an intervening party on the side of the bishops. The Trump administration also filed a separate request for a preliminary injunction. It is slated for a hearing next week.
Meanwhile, a similar legal battle is unfolding in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Washington. The Orthodox Church of America, along with other churches and individual priests, has sued state officials and county prosecutors, contending that the law violates the First Amendment right to practice one’s religion.
The Washington State Standard published a longer version of this story on July 18, 2025. Cascade PBS has edited this story for length.
