Washington state will not compel Catholic priests to violate the privacy of confession under an agreement signed by the state’s attorney general, both parties announced on Oct. 10.
A settlement filed in federal court guarantees what the church calls “the seal of Confession” while still requiring clergy to be mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect outside of the confessional setting. Catholic officials said their clerics are already under instruction to report incidents discovered outside of confession.
The stipulated motion, filed jointly in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, permanently ends a July preliminary injunction barring the state from enforcing Senate Bill 5375 against Catholic priests who hear confessions….