A centuries-old religious exemption is being challenged. Under the new law, Catholic clergy in Washington state are now required to report child abuse — even if the admission comes during confession. And if they don't? They could face prosecution.

But the Archdiocese of Seattle isn’t budging.

“We must obey God rather than men,” it said in a bold statement.

“Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession — or they will be excommunicated from the Church.”

The legal standoff stems from Senate Bill 5375, signed into law Friday. The bill strips religious exemptions and designates all clergy as mandatory reporters, no matter how they receive the information. That’s a legal and theological bombshell for the Catholic Church, which considers confessional secrecy inviolable.

“This is about the state’s secular responsibility to the public interest of protecting children,” said State Sen. Noel Frame, who sponsored the bill.

But the Archdiocese insists that confessions remain “sacred, secure, confidential and protected by the law of the Church.”

For years, Washington lawmakers had wrestled over how to handle religious exceptions in abuse reporting. Multiple versions of the bill failed—until now. The final law, which the Archdiocese described as “the most extreme version,” passed despite fierce opposition from Church leaders.

The Archdiocese claims Governor Bob Ferguson ignored multiple requests for dialogue before signing the bill, creating what it believes is a constitutional crisis.

According to the Church, the law “singles out religion” and violates First Amendment protections.

Frame, undeterred, doubled down: "Far too many children have been victims of abuse. The Legislature has a duty to act and end the cycles of abuse that can repeat generation after generation. When kids ask for help, we need to be sure that they get help. It's time to pass this bill once and for all."

While publicly denouncing the law, the Archdiocese maintains that it shares the broader goal: “protecting children and preventing child abuse,” Church officials said, but clarified that they will only report abuse if the information comes outside the confessional.

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into whether the new law unlawfully forces clergy to “violate their deeply held faith.”

Washington may be first to enact such a law, but it’s not alone in considering it. A similar proposal in California was put on hold back in 2019.

“Our policies already require priests to be mandatory reporters, but not if this information is obtained during confession,” said the Archdiocese of Seattle, which oversees 160 priests and 90 deacons.

With the law now in effect, legal uncertainty looms. Will clergy face arrest for obeying canon law? Will the courts uphold the law—or strike it down?