While clergy are often mandatory reporters outside of the confessional, long-standing legal precedent in the U.S. recognizes the religious freedom of confessors and penitents to be exempt from those ...

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 ...

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of Washington over its recent law mandating that priests must violate the seal of confession if child abuse is learned about during the ...

The state law, in Washington, applies to all religions but has outraged Catholics in particular. The Justice Department is investigating. By Ruth Graham Ruth Graham covers faith and religion. The ...

Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand. A newly enacted law forcing priests to reveal the details of their members’ private confessions under penalty of fine or imprisonment ...

Governor Bob Ferguson of Washington State recently signed into law legislation obligating Catholic clergy to disclose reports of child abuse heard during sacramental confessions, adding “members of ...

The Catechism speaks about making confession available to those who are hearing-impaired, but this week, we heard from the ...

The state of Washington reached an agreement with Catholic officials this week not to require priests to report information that they learn in sacramental confession about suspected child abuse or ...

A Montana bill that could compel Catholic priests to break the seal of confession is being criticized by Catholics who say it could eliminate key religious liberty protections. The proposed bill would ...