Spokane and Seattle bishops ask federal judge to block new mandatory reporting law

Lawyers representing the Catholic bishops of Washington have asked a federal judge to block the state’s recently passed mandatory reporting law from taking effect later this month, alleging in a lawsuit that the state “is targeting the Roman Catholic Church in a brazen act of religious discrimination.”

The lawsuit comes after the Washington Legislature recently added members of the clergy as those legally obligated to report suspected abuse.

Under current state law, a variety of professions that frequently interact with children, including police officers, nurses, and school personnel, are required to report incidents of suspected abuse within 48 hours, with failure to do so considered a gross misdemeanor.

Unlike previous versions of the legislation, the bill passed this year does not include an exemption for the communication between clergy and a congregation member known as “penitential” communication, such as in the confession of sins.

As he signed the bill into law in May, Gov. Bob Ferguson said it “protects Washingtonians from abuse and harm.”

A Catholic, Ferguson said his uncle served as a Jesuit priest “for many, many, many years here in the Pacific Northwest.”

“I obviously have a personal perspective on this,” Ferguson said. “But protecting our kids first is the most important thing.”

Unless blocked by a court, the law will take effect on July 27.

Across the country, 30 states have designated clergy as mandatory reporters, while an additional 14 have universal mandatory reporting requirements.

However, the lack of an exemption for information obtained in a confession in Washington’s law has proven contentious.

Spokane Catholic Bishop Thomas Daly and Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne have both previously indicated that they will not fully comply with the legislation.

In separate statements after its adoption, Daly said, “Shepherds, bishops and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession – even to the point of going to jail,” and Etienne indicated that those who break the seal of confession face excommunication from the church.

The mandatory reporting law also caught the eye of the Trump administration.

In May, the Department of Justice announced an investigation into the legislation, alleging it “appears on its face to violate the First Amendment.”

According to the Department of Justice, the investigation is led by the agency’s Civil Rights Division.

Shortly after the bill was signed into law, Daly, Entienne, and Yakima Bishop Joseph Tyson filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Bob Ferguson, Attorney General Nick Brown and Washington’s 39 county prosecutors, alleging the law was a “brazen act of religious discrimination.”

On Monday, lawyers representing Washington’s catholic leaders asked a federal judge in Tacoma to block the law from taking effect. A decision has not been issued as of Tuesday afternoon, though it is expected before the law takes effect.

The lawsuit alleges the mandatory reporting requirement violates the free exercise and establishment clauses of the First Amendment, the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Washington Constitution.

“Without any basis in law or fact, Washington now puts Roman Catholic priests to an impossible choice: violate 2,000 years of Church teaching and incur automatic excommunication or refuse to comply with Washington law and be subject to imprisonment, fine, and civil liability,” the complaint states.

In response, lawyers representing Washington wrote that designating clergy as mandatory reporters “treats them exactly the same as other professions the Legislature has deemed to be uniquely positioned to identify and report suspected child abuse.”

The state also objected to the preliminary injunction, arguing that clergy have shown “no risk of imminent irreparable harm, and the equities tip sharply against them.”

“The public’s interest in preventing child abuse outweighs their hypothetical concern of possible religious conflict,” the response states.

Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, the bill’s sponsor, introduced similar legislation in 2023 and again in 2024. In 2023, a proposal that did not contain an exemption for confidential penitential communication failed. The version proposed by Frame last year would have established a “duty to warn” for abuse disclosed in penitential communication, though that, too, failed.

“This is about making sure we, the state, have the information we need to go make sure that kid is OK,” Frame said ahead of a Senate vote on the legislation. “What our mandatory reporter laws do is, it compels our Department of Children, Youth and Families or law enforcement to further investigate and substantiate that report, but in the meantime, make sure that child is safe.”