OLYMPIA, Washington (LifeSiteNews) — The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a press release from June 23 that they are seeking legal action against the State of Washington for enacting a law which “violates the free exercise of religion for all Catholics, and requires Catholic priests to violate the confidentiality seal of Confession.”
Washington’s Democrat Governor Bob Ferguson, a self-identifying Catholic, originally signed the bill into law on May 3, regarding it in an interview with KXLY as “pretty straightforward.”
“My uncle was a Jesuit priest for many years, (I’ve) been to confession myself – and so I’m very familiar with that,” Ferguson said, adding “I felt this was important legislation and protecting kids is first priority.”
However, Ferguson fails to understand the Seal of Confession and the ramifications if a priest were to violate it. Catechism 1467 strictly forbids any priest to reveal the sins that the penitent has spoken in secrecy “for any reason.”
READ: Orthodox churches sue Washington state over law forcing priests to violate Seal of Confession
“The Church declares that every priest who hears confessions is bound under very severe penalties to keep absolute secrecy regarding the sins that his penitents have confessed to him. … This secret, which admits of no exceptions, is called the ‘sacramental seal,’ because what the penitent has made known to the priest remains ‘sealed’ by the sacrament strictly forbids a priest to break the seal of confession for any reason,” states the Catechism.
Additionally, Canon 1382 states that any priest who violates the sacramental seal incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.
Catholics and Orthodox alike have voiced their opposition to the law, expressing that following the law would be in direct opposition to their priestly state. Many Orthodox churches in the region joined Catholics in their own lawsuit, which was filed on June 16. The lawsuit cites the shared understanding of the sacramental seal as the leading reason for the injunction.
“Violating this mandatory religious obligation is a canonical crime and a grave sin, with severe consequences for the offending priest, including removal from the priesthood,” the suit reads.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said regarding the bill, “Laws that explicitly target religious practices such as the Sacrament of Confession in the Catholic Church have no place in our society.”
