CV NEWS FEED // A Washington State bill that would attempt to force priests to violate the seal of Confession has passed the Senate and is now under consideration in the House.
Clergy are not currently mandated reporters of child abuse in the state of Washington, according to a Feb. 28 news release on the Washington Senate Democrats website. Senate Bill 5375, introduced by Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, makes clergy mandatory reporters and does not exempt them from reporting such information if they learn it within the sacrament of Confession. The bill does exempt priests from testifying in court or in criminal proceedings if the information was learned in Confession, according to a separate news release on the Washington Senate Democrats website.
Catholic priests are bound to the seal of Confession, which prohibits them from revealing anything that they learn during Confession. If they violate the seal, they are excommunicated.
On Feb. 28, Democrat state senators advanced the bill through the Senate in a 28-20 vote. One Republican senator was excused from the vote, and 20 senators, including two Democrats, voted against the bill.
Frame stated in the Feb. 28 news release, “I know this is a tough subject for many of my colleagues, especially those with deep religious views. I respect that, but this bill is about the separation of church and state. This bill is about the state’s secular responsibility to the public interest of protecting children.”
The bill is now under consideration at the House Committee on Early Learning and Human Services, which is set to have a public hearing on the bill March 14.
This is the third time Frame has introduced such legislation, as CatholicVote previously reported. The first two iterations of the bill failed to pass.
Bishop Thomas A. Daly of the Diocese of Spokane, Washington, has spoken out against the bill, emphasizing that the sacrament of Confession is sacred.
“I want to assure you that your shepherds, bishop and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of Confession – even to the point of going to jail,” he said in a statement to local faithful.
He encouraged Catholics to call state representatives to urge them to vote against the legislation.
>>Montana legislators table bill that would have forced priests to violate seal of Confession<<
The post Washington Senate passes bill attempting to force priests to violate the seal of Confession appeared first on CatholicVote org.