A just and free society is one in which religious freedom is protected. The Department of Justice‘s decision to investigate a blatantly anti-Catholic law in Washington state is a necessary step toward ensuring the free exercise of religion and eliminating religious discrimination from our nation’s laws. 

Signed into law on May 2, 2025, by Gov. Bob Ferguson (D-WA), Senate Bill 5375 mandates that clergy report suspected child abuse or neglect, classifying them as mandatory reporters alongside professionals such as teachers and doctors. The law explicitly denies clergy an exemption for “privileged communication” for information disclosed during the Catholic sacrament of confession. The law provides no exception for the seal of confidentiality and threatens priests who refuse to break the seal of the confessional with up to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine.