The United States Department of Justice has filed legal action against the state of Washington over a new law, Senate Bill 5375, that requires workers, including clergy members, to report child abuse.
The bill, which was signed into law on May 2, mandates that all professionals who work with children must report abuse or neglect. This includes religious leaders, nurses, child care workers, and more. Due to grooming, child sexual abuse often continues for months or years. Evidence shows an adult intervening can prevent this.
Despite this, SB 5375 is highly contested by the Catholic Church, who claim that priests should not be required to report abuse divulged during confession. “Priests cannot comply with this law if the knowledge of abuse is obtained during the Sacrament of Reconciliation,” reads a statement by Archbishop Paul D. Etienne. The Trump administration’s Department of Justice agrees, claiming the law forces priests to choose between prison and excommunication.
SB 5357 requires that all religious leaders report abuse and neglect, even if the information was received during confession or a similar religious practice. The Department of Justice argues that this “deprives Catholic priests of their fundamental right to freely exercise their religious beliefs, as guaranteed under the First Amendment.”
Trump’s Justice Department’s opposition comes after the administration cut funding for investigating child sexual abuse, refused to release promised documents about the crimes and associates of Jeffrey Epstein, and sought to define transgender rights and healthcare for minors as a form of “child abuse.”
Represented by Wilmer Hale and the Becket Fund for religious liberty, 11 Catholic archbishops and priests sued the state of Washington in federal district court, seeking “a declaration that the state law was unconstitutional, a preliminary and permanent injunction against the criminal investigation of Catholic priests under the law, and attorneys’ fees.” The Department of Justice intervened in this case on behalf of the Catholic plaintiffs, claiming the law violated the “fundamental right to freely exercise their religious beliefs guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments.”
The federal district court judge granted the plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction, ruling that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed on their claim that SB 5375 violated the Free Exercise Clause. The State of Washington is prohibited from enforcing SB 5375 against Catholic priests who learn of child abuse during confession. The preliminary injunction leaves intact the portion of the law that makes Catholic priests mandated reporters for disclosures made outside of confession.
In a press release announcing their intention to intervene in the case, the Justice Department stated that the law “violates the free exercise of religion for all Catholics.”
When the bill was signed into law by Governor Bob Ferguson, who is a practicing Catholic and has been to confession, he told reporters he had no hesitation about signing it. As state attorney general, Ferguson accused the Catholic Church of not cooperating with an investigation into their unlawful use of charitable funds to conceal sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests.
SB 5375 does not explicitly target Catholics. It applies to all clergy members of every faith and encompasses over 25 different professions and industries outside of religious institutions.
In reality, SB 5375 is not anti-Catholic — it is anti-sexual violence.
Currently, teachers, doctors, nurses, and therapists are legally mandated to report suspicions of child abuse or neglect to the authorities. SB 5375 extends these rules to many additional professions, including religious figures, aiming to combat child trafficking, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, and more.
The Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA) supports SB 5375. This law is critical for preventing sexual violence against children and should be implemented in its entirety.
In 2011, Washington State’s Child Protective Services investigated cases of child abuse and neglect involving 46,636 different children under 18 years old. In the same year, a combined 28% of the state’s men and women reported being sexually abused in childhood.
There is no reason that SB 5375 should be blocked from full implementation. Preventing sexual violence and ensuring safety for children must take precedence over religious governing. Supporters of SB 5375 must speak up. This lawsuit, and the actions of the Trump administration, actively protect abusers — this must not be normalized or ignored. We stand with Gov. Ferguson and the brave legislators who passed this vital law. We urge Pope Leo XIV, as the current head of the Catholic Church, to join us and take a stand against child sexual abuse.
