Washington state barred from enforcing law targeting Catholic sacrament of reconciliation

The agreement, which permanently bars enforcement of the bill, affirms that SB 5375 violated the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion. The injunction ensures that clergy cannot be compelled by the government to choose between their faith and imprisonment.

Earlier this year, Gov. Bob Ferguson signed SB 5375 into law. The Washington State Catholic Conference had supported an earlier version that included an exemption for the sacrament of confession but opposed the final version signed by the governor. In July, a federal court blocked the law before it could take effect.

Under the law, priests who refused to report confessions could have faced up to 364 days in jail, a $5,000 fine, and potential civil penalties.

The plaintiffs, led by Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle, Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Yakima, and Bishop Thomas A. Daly of Spokane, were represented by Becket, First Liberty Institute, and WilmerHale. Their lawsuit argued that the state’s attempt to criminalize the seal of confession directly violated the First Amendment’s protections of religious freedom.

“This is a victory for religious freedom and for common sense,” said Mark Rienzi, president and CEO of Becket. “Priests should never be forced to make the impossible choice of betraying their sacred vows or going to jail.”

“The Church supported the law’s goal from the beginning and only asked for a narrow exemption to protect the sacrament,” added Jean Hill, Executive Director of the Washington State Catholic Conference. “We’re grateful the state ultimately recognized it can prevent abuse without forcing priests to violate their sacred vows.”

Thomas More Society, which filed an amicus brief on behalf of Bishop Robert Barron in support of the challenge, hailed the injunction as a decisive constitutional victory. “This is a historic victory for religious liberty,” said Michael McHale, Senior Counsel at TMS. “Washington’s experiment in singling out the confessional seal for special opprobrium was unconstitutional from the start. Legislators who think they can target disfavored religious practices with impunity should take note: this law failed, and it failed decisively.”

McHale praised Bishop Barron for his “steadfast leadership and moral clarity,” noting that “the seal of confession is not a policy choice, but a sacred duty rooted in centuries of faith and freedom.”

The court’s decision preserves the sacramental confidentiality central to Catholic belief and protects the Church’s autonomy from political interference. McHale said lawmakers had attempted to “weaponize the criminal law to impose their ideology at the expense of religious freedom.”

“Washington’s politicians thought they could score political points by attacking the Church, and instead, they exposed their own religious bias and disregard for the Constitution,” McHale added. “The right to confess one’s sins in confidence is older than the Republic itself. It’s a cornerstone of religious liberty.”

Thomas More Society urged lawmakers in other states to learn from Washington’s failed attempt to erode religious protections. “If SB 5375 is a model, it is a failed one,” the organization said. “Legislators who pursue similar efforts risk the same legal defeat and rebuke for religious discrimination under the First Amendment.”