History, tradition, and the law all recognize the sanctity of the Roman Catholic sacrament of confession. The priest-penitent privilege in America dates to 1813 in a New York case, People v. Phillips, where a court refused to compel a priest to reveal what a man accused of stealing jewelry told him during confession.
It is essential to the free exercise of a religion, that its ordinances should be administered—that its ceremonies as well as its essentials should be protected. Secrecy is of the essence of penance. The sinner will not confess, nor will the priest receive his confession, if the veil of secrecy is removed: To decide that the minister shall promulgate what he receives in confession, is to declare that there shall be no penance...
That argument has stood the test of time—until today.
The state of Washington, after a three-year debate, finally passed a statute that would compel a Catholic priest to reveal what a sinner told him in the privacy of the confessional or face the prospect of going to prison.
The law requires priests to report child abuse even if the information is obtained during the administration of the sacrament. The bill "adds clergy to Washington’s list of mandatory reporters for child abuse but explicitly denies them the 'privileged communication' exemption granted to other professionals, such as nurses and therapists," reports The National Catholic Register.
Before the ink was dry on Gov. Bob Ferguson's signature, the Catholic bishops of Washington state filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the law.
“Consistent with the Roman Catholic Church’s efforts to eradicate the societal scourge of child abuse, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle and the dioceses of Yakima and Spokane have each adopted and implemented within their respective dioceses policies that go further in the protection of children than the current requirements of Washington law on reporting child abuse and neglect,” the lawsuit states. The policies mandate "reporting suspected abuse by Church personnel, including clergy, except when information is learned solely in confession, which is protected by 'more than 2,000 years of Church doctrine,'" the suit states.
In the Catholic Church, the Sacrament of Confession allows people to divulge their sins to a priest, who acts in the person of Christ and delivers spiritual counsel and absolution. The Church holds the Seal of Confession to be inviolable, with canon law imposing automatic excommunication on any priest who discloses the contents of a confession, a position affirmed by Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle. Priests in Seattle have stated that they would rather obey God than men and face prison than violate their sacred oaths.
Why do doctors and patients, attorneys and clients, psychiatrists and clients, and spouses still enjoy the confidentiality privilege while priests are singled out for discrimination by being denied the protection of a historically recognized, constitutionally protected religious practice?
As Bishop Thomas Daly of Spokane has said, the constitutional right to religious freedom is a linchpin of American society. The First Amendment clearly states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” While Democrats such as Washington State Senator Noel Frame insist that the new law fortifies the separation of church and state, it is in fact a flagrant violation of this principle, with the state infringing on the affairs of the Church. Further, by effectively mandating that priests violate their vows by breaking a core tenet of their sacramental ministry, the state is indeed “prohibiting the free exercise” of religion.
Child abuse is one of the most heinous crimes a person can commit. So are murder and rape. And yet, there is no mandate (yet) to force priests to reveal information relating to those crimes gleaned from confession.
It doesn't take much foresight to predict that the first court to hear this suit will dismiss it, with the judge delivering a stern lesson in First Amendment protections to the Democratic governor and legislature.
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