Demand the DOJ Protect Children, Not Institutions

U.S. Department of Justice

  • Washington state’s new law, Senate Bill 5375, signed into law on May 2, 2025, mandates that clergy members report any knowledge of child abuse or neglect to law enforcement, including information obtained during religious confessions. This legislation aims to close loopholes that previously allowed abuse to go unreported under the guise of religious confidentiality.

    The law has faced significant opposition from the Catholic Church, which argues that it infringes upon the sanctity of the confessional. The Archdiocese of Seattle has stated that priests who comply with this law by breaking the seal of confession would face excommunication, emphasizing the Church’s commitment to maintaining the confidentiality of confession.

    In response to the law, the U.S. Department of Justice has initiated a civil rights investigation, asserting that the legislation may violate the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon expressed concerns that the law forces clergy to choose between adhering to their faith and complying with state law, potentially breaching constitutional rights.

    Supporters of the law, including Governor Bob Ferguson, argue that the primary goal is to protect children and ensure that abuse does not go unreported, regardless of where or how the information is obtained. They contend that the safety and well-being of children should take precedence over religious confidentiality.

    This situation presents a complex intersection of child protection, religious freedom, and legal obligations, prompting a national debate on the appropriate balance between these critical concerns.



To: U.S. Department of Justice
From: [Your Name]

To Whom It May Concern,

I am writing to express my deep concern and outrage at the Justice Department’s reported investigation into Washington state’s new law requiring clergy to report child sexual abuse—even when disclosed in confession.

Washington is currently the only state to pass such a law, and instead of standing behind it as a long-overdue step in protecting vulnerable children, the federal government appears to be aligning itself with critics who are calling the law “anti-Catholic.”

Let’s be clear: this is not about religious persecution. This is about protecting children from predators—many of whom have hidden behind religious privilege for far too long. If the sanctity of a confessional protects abusers and silences victims, then that sanctity is complicit in harm.

Your concern should not be preserving the secrecy of clergy—it should be ending the systemic abuse that has plagued institutions for decades. Survivors deserve justice. Children deserve safety. And no religious ritual should come before either.

Please direct your resources and authority where they belong: toward defending the rights and safety of children, not shielding institutions from accountability.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]