Washington state recently entered a settlement ending a provision of its mandatory child abuse reporting law that would have criminalized priests upholding the sacred seal of confession. 

In May of this year, the state of Washington passed a law removing the clergy-penitent privilege under the state’s mandatory child abuse reporting law. The law would have required priests to breach the sacredness and confidentiality of confession or face criminal penalties including up to 364 days of jail time, a $5,000 fine, and civil liability.

In response, Alliance Defending Freedom, a non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom and other causes filed a lawsuit against Washington authorities seeking injunctive and declaratory relief from the law on behalf of the Orthodox Church in America, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese, Romanian Orthodox Metropolia, Western American Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, and Fr. Timothy Wilkinson of Saint Luke Orthodox Christian Church in Chattaroy, Washington (Orthodox Church in America v. Ferguson). A similar lawsuit was filed by a group Catholic bishops.

In July, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington issued a preliminary injunction against the provision that would have required clergy to report abuse learned from confessions. On October 10th, Washington authorities agreed to a permanent injunction against the provision that infringed on priests' First Amendment religious rights. The settlement keeps the crucial portions of the mandatory reporting law that prevents child abuse while upholding the sacred seal of confession, showing that these two important goals are not mutually exclusive.