Washington’s Senate Bill 5375 Mandates Violation of Confession’s Confidentiality
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Washington State, challenging Senate Bill 5375, a new law it claims violates the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
The law mandates that Catholic priests break the confidentiality of the Sacrament of Confession, a sacred rite, under threat of criminal penalties and immediate excommunication from the Catholic Church.
The Justice Department argues that the law unconstitutionally targets Catholic practices, forcing priests to choose between their religious obligations and state compliance while treating the priest-penitent privilege inconsistently compared to other legal privileges.
“Laws targeting religious practices like Confession have no place in our society,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division.
The case, Etienne v. Ferguson, is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Justice Department Sues Washington State Over its new anti-Catholic law, Senate Bill 5375
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