Washington state officials have agreed to a permanent court order that prevents the enforcement of a controversial law provision which sought to criminalize Orthodox Christian priests for upholding ...

A federal judge has halted a Washington state law that required Catholic priests to break the seal of confession. The law that was passed in May, and was slated to go into effect on July 27, mandated ...

The Trump administration is investigating a Washington state law that would require Catholic priests to break the seal of confession to report information related to child abuse or neglect. The ...

Confession, the Catholic and Orthodox practice of listing one’s sins in the presence of a priest who then offers absolution and is sworn to secrecy under pain of eternal damnation, has long been a ...

Lawmakers in Washington state are considering a proposal that would force clergy members to violate the confidentiality of the sacrament of confession if they hear about an incident of child abuse or ...

All priests should desire to carry out a holy ministry and to confer the sacraments in a way that leads others to Christ. However, sometimes the mix of personalities in the confessional makes it ...

The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against a new law that demands priests report child abuse revealed during private confession. One American Archbishop and other Catholic Church figures ...

When I was auxiliary bishop in Los Angeles some years ago, I spoke up at a meeting of the California hierarchy. We were considering a number of moves being made by the state legislature, including a ...

Catholic clergy members in Washington may be forced to choose between excommunication or disobeying the government because of a recently signed law that requires them to break the seal of confession ...

In recent years, some Catholics have been concerned by pushes from governments in locations such as Louisiana and Australia who challenge the secrecy of the sacrament of confession, asking that ...

If such a thing as a “political confessional” existed, where errant officeholders could go to seek forgiveness for colossally wrongheaded actions, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson and a majority of his ...

Washington State is attacking religion under the guise of child protection. Earlier this month, and after three years of intense debate, Governor Bob Ferguson signed Senate Bill 5375 into law. It adds ...