{"id":51808,"date":"2025-07-10T07:59:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T07:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/?p=51808"},"modified":"2025-07-10T07:59:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T07:59:14","slug":"orthodox-churches-join-catholic-bishops-in-suing-washington-state-over-confession-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/nl\/learn\/orthodox-churches-join-catholic-bishops-in-suing-washington-state-over-confession-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Orthodoxe kerken sluiten zich aan bij katholieke bisschoppen in rechtszaak tegen staat Washington over biechtgeheim"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Credit: Quisquilia\/Shutterstock<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

CNA Staff, Jun 17, 2025 \/ 11:16 am (CNA).<\/p>\n

A group of Orthodox churches has joined the Catholic bishops of Washington state in suing the government over its requirement that clergy either violate the seal of confession or face jail time.<\/p>\n

The Orthodox Church in America, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, and numerous other Orthodox jurisdictions on Monday sued dozens of public officials in the state<\/a> challenging the constitutionality of its mandatory reporter law.<\/p>\n

Signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson<\/a> on May 2, the law goes into effect July 27 and adds clergy to Washington\u2019s list of mandatory reporters for child abuse but explicitly denies them the \u201cprivileged communication\u201d exemption granted to other professionals, such as nurses and therapists.<\/p>\n

Priests who fail to report abuse learned in confession could face up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.<\/p>\n

In een lawsuit filed last month<\/a> in federal district court, the Catholic bishops of the state emphasized the Church\u2019s commitment to child protection while defending the inviolability of the confessional seal.<\/p>\n

The Orthodox leaders in their lawsuit similarly argued that Orthodox priests \u201chave a strict religious duty to maintain the absolute confidentiality of what is disclosed in the sacrament of confession.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cViolating this mandatory religious obligation is a canonical crime and a grave sin, with severe consequences for the offending priest, including removal from the priesthood,\u201d the suit says.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s law explicitly allows for numerous other exemptions for those otherwise required to report child abuse. Washington \u201cis now the only state whose mandatory reporter law explicitly overrides the religious clergy-penitent privilege\u201d while allowing the other exemptions, the lawsuit says.<\/p>\n

The Orthodox leaders said they \u201cdo not object to alerting authorities when they have genuine concerns about children that they learn outside of confession.\u201d Rather, they are demanding that the state \u201cgive the clergy-penitent privilege the constitutional protection it is due as a fundamental religious obligation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court, claims the state\u2019s law violates the First and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution. It asks the court to block the law and declare it unconstitutional. <\/p>\n

Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly in a statement last month<\/a> vowed that clergy would not break the seal of confession, even if it meant jail time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to assure you that your shepherds, bishops and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession \u2014 even to the point of going to jail,\u201d Daly said in his message to the faithful. \u201cThe sacrament of penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane.\u201d<\/p>\n

het Amerikaanse Ministerie van Justitie launched an investigation<\/a> into the law on May 6, calling it an \u201canti-Catholic\u201d measure.<\/p>\n

U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon described it<\/a> as a \u201clegislative attack on the Catholic Church and its sacrament of confession,\u201d arguing it singles out clergy by denying them privileges afforded to other professionals.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/264793\/orthodox-churches-join-catholic-bishops-in-suing-washington-state-over-confession-law<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Credit: Quisquilia\/Shutterstock CNA-staf, 17 juni 2025 \/ 11:16 uur (CNA). Een groep orthodoxe kerken heeft zich aangesloten bij de katholieke bisschoppen van de staat Washington in een rechtszaak tegen de overheid vanwege de eis dat geestelijken ofwel het biechtgeheim schenden, ofwel gevangenisstraf riskeren. De Orthodox Church in America, het Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North [\u2026]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":55874,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-51808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-news"],"mb":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Orthodox-churches-join-Catholic-bishops-in-suing-Washington-state-over-confession-law.webp?fit=800%2C533&quality=75&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":54940,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/nl\/learn\/bishop-barron-urges-court-to-strike-down-washington-law-that-targets-seal-of-confession\/","url_meta":{"origin":51808,"position":0},"title":"Bishop Barron urges court to strike down Washington law that targets seal of confession","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"maart 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Bishop Robert Barron is the founder of Word on Fire, a media apostolate focused on evangelization. \/ Credit: Word on Fire CNA Newsroom, Jul 4, 2025 \/ 15:29 pm (CNA). 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