Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops Joins Amicus Briefs Supporting Religious Protections
The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops has actively participated in helping to protect the liberty of all Americans to practice their faith. Since 2021, the Assembly has signed onto six amicus briefs with other religious entities of various faith traditions advocating for the protection of religious freedom principles in various courts.
Proponents of religious liberty recently scored a resounding victory in one of the six cases, Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission. The Catholic Charities Bureau (CCB) sought a religious exemption from Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance program, wishing to join a church association’s own unemployment program instead. The Wisconsin Supreme Court denied the request on the ground that the CCB’s activities, while motivated by Catholic teachings, were primarily charitable and secular because they serve people of all faiths and do not use their services to proselytize. On June 5th, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Wisconsin violated the First Amendment and held that the CCB was entitled to the religious exemption.
Orthodox Jurisdictions Sue Washington State for Threatening Sanctity of Confession with Discriminatory Law
Recently, the state of Washington passed a law removing the clergy-penitent privilege under the state’s mandatory child abuse reporting law. The new law requires priests to breach the confidentiality and sacredness of confession or face criminal penalties including up to 364 days of jail time. Of course the Orthodox Church believes that protection of children is paramount and priests are already required to report sexual misconduct against youth based on information learned outside the narrow confines of confession. But contrary to the vast majority of states, Washington specifically removed the long-recognized clergy-penitent privilege while leaving in place similar privileges for attorneys and other secular professions.
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.
6/18/2025