Teachers, police officers, child caregivers, social workers medical staff; In nearly every state, trusted professions like these are called "mandatory reporters." They are required by law to report to police any allegations of child abuse or neglect heard while at work.
But there’s one profession in a role of authority, and with frequent interactions with children, who are not subject to these rules in certain states: Clergy.
In fact, organizations like the Catholic Church have fought tooth and nail to keep clergy off of mandatory reporter lists, citing clergy-penitent privilege as the reason why they shouldn’t be legally compelled to report child abuse to police.
There are currently five states where clergy are not listed as mandatory reporters. Among them is Washington state, where the fight over this policy is again heating up. As politicians advance a bill which will add clergy to that list, high-ranking Catholic clergy battle to keep themselves off of it.
Should Catholic clergy have to report admissions of child abuse to the police? Just how sacred is the confession booth?
Mandatory Reporters
Last year, legislators in Washington state advanced a bill to add clergy to the list of the state’s mandatory reporters. Interestingly, this bill actually had the backing of the Catholic Church… with one major caveat.
In what critics described as a "loophole", Catholic clergy threw their support behind the bill – but only if admissions of abuse heard in confession were exempt from the law.
The confession booth, they argued, is too sacred a space, and requiring clergy to report confessions of child abuse would only discourage the confession of such sins in the future.
The bill ultimately passed the State Senate but died in a House committee.
Here We Go Again
Now legislators are trying again. The recently introduced Senate Bill 5375 adds clergy to the list of mandatory reporters, and does not exempt them from abuse admissions heard in confession. However, it carves out a different exemption for clergy, stopping short of requiring them to testify in court proceedings like other mandatory reporters.
Proponents of the bill say it’s long overdue. "I know this is a hard subject for many of my colleagues, especially those with deep religious views. I respect that. I also know far too many children have been victims of abuse — the Legislature has a duty to act,” said bill co-sponsor State Sen. Noel Frame. “I think this is a proposal that can protect kids and get the votes to pass this year."
Catholics Fight Back
Representatives from the local Catholic Diocese recently testified against the bill. Bishop Frank Schuster, head of the Archdiocese of Seattle, said he agrees with the “spirit of the bill” but says that religious freedom supersedes abuse reporting.
“The seal of confession is inviolable,” he explained. “The priests cannot and will not break it. The consequence worldwide is excommunication and cannot change locally.”
He also expressed his concern that the bill could make child abusers less likely to come to confession at all. “This bill will also have a chilling effect on the tens of thousands of Catholics in Washington state who want to confess their sins without worrying that their sins will be reported due to a misunderstanding,” he testified.
Who Should Dictate Reporting Rules?
However, critics say that the Catholic Church simply cannot be counted on to regulate itself on this issue, pointing to past behavior.
Shortly after last year’s bill was introduced, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that three separate Diocese in the state were being investigated for using charitable funds to cover up child sex abuse by clergy.
The future of the bill – and Washington clergy’s role in protecting children – remains unclear.
Where do you stand?
17 comments
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Nicholas J Page
So abuse is to be covered up again why is my big question
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Reverend Paula Copp
They don’t want the public to have access to how many victims of sexual abuse the church is hiding…
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Lawrence Pearce
It's worse than robbing a bank and claiming it's against your religion to tell who robbed the bank. We're talking about children being abused by men who hold positions of authority and who then try to claim that it's against their religion to tell which men molested the children.
Stolen bank money can be repaid from seized assets, but robbing a child of a happy life cannot be repaid by the Catholic church or any other religious cult. It's time to stop the cover ups of child abuse by religious cults.
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Thunder
No surprise. The Catholic's primary superpower is turning a blind eye to and excusing rampant abuse. It's been that way since it's inception. Even Constantine who founded the institution was excused for murdering his own son and having his wife boiled alive in a bathtub. The Pagan priesthood wouldn't absolve him of his heinous conduct, so he adopted Christianity instead. The rest is history.
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Lawrence Pearce
Only criminals want to protect their fellow pedos.. I mean criminals.
“So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all. The time is coming when everything that is covered up will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all." Matthew 10.26 / Luke 8.17 / Luke 12.2 The Catholic bishops know those words of Jesus are in their Catholic bible. No more cover ups.
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Robert Gagnon
There is no excuse to cover up child abuse. The obvious reason for full disclosure is that it prevents it from happening again. Seems that the victim is of lowest importance in this conversation.
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Elizabeth Jane Erbe Wilcox
It’s difficult for me to understand why clergy should be above the law and not have to confess their sin of child sexual abuse with the end result being charged with exactly that. Their whole idea of “confession” is just something they invented. Child sexual abuse is an unconscionable physical act purposely inflicted on a child, baby, infant for the purpose of sexual gratification of the clergy person.
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JT Sunrise
Darkness has crept into our sacred institutions—where mandatory abuse reporting is resisted and the suffering of the innocent is concealed—is not a mere failing of human frailty. It is the unmistakable manifestation of Satan’s dominion over a fallen world. Scripture warns us in Ephesians 6:12 that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Yet, when our own spiritual leaders turn a blind eye to abuse and silence the voices of victims, they unwittingly become instruments of the devil’s deceit.
The vile acts of abuse, covered up under layers of institutional secrecy, echo the words of John 8:44, where our Lord declares, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.” This is not a time for leniency or secrecy—it is a time for truth to shine forth like a beacon of divine justice. The Holy Scriptures demand that we defend the vulnerable. In Psalm 82:3-4, we are charged to “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.” To fail in this sacred duty is to align oneself with the very forces of corruption and sin that Satan employs to subvert God’s kingdom.
Look around us—in every act of hidden abuse, in every cover-up that protects the wicked, we see the handiwork of the lawless one. His influence is not abstract; it is evident in the dark corridors of power where those entrusted with care choose to protect their own rather than honor the divine mandate of transparency and justice. Just as the prophet Isaiah denounced the oppression of the innocent (Isaiah 1:17), so too must we rebuke every instance of deceit and cruelty. We cannot, in good conscience, allow the agents of evil to continue their reign unchecked.
Mandatory abuse reporting is not an imposition upon confidentiality—it is the safeguard of our collective soul, a necessary measure to ensure that truth prevails over treachery. We must stand as unyielding sentinels against the forces that seek to hide sin under the cloak of loyalty. Let us be as the Apostle Paul exhorted us in Romans 12:21: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Our call is clear: expose the darkness, hold the wicked accountable, and restore honor to the vulnerable.
May our voices rise as a clarion call against all that is evil, and may the light of Christ drive out the darkness in every heart. For in the final reckoning, there can be no refuge for those who hide their sins, for the day of the Lord is at hand.
In unwavering faith and divine resolve, Rev JTSunrise Celestial Nexus Church, Seattle
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Lawrence Pearce
The so called 'devil' has nothing to do with the crimes of priests against children. Their own bible admits in Ezekiel 18 that the person or priest who commits the sin is the only one who must pay for the crime. There is no mention of any devil that can be blamed for anyone's sins or crimes.
The bible of the Jews and Christians proclaims, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him." Psalm 24.1 and I Corinthians 10.26
"I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is nobody beside me." This means there is no devil or man in charge of this world. There is only one God who created all things. Genesis 1, Isaiah 45 and 46 When you realize this fact, fear and anxiety disappear. You can now focus on direct communication with your Creator and bypass the Catholic church and all other cults that claim they only have the truth.
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JT Sunrise
Lawrence, your reference to Ezekiel 18 is well taken—each person is accountable for their own sins. Indeed, free will is a central tenet of both Jewish and Christian theology. No one can simply blame an external force for their crimes. The priests who abuse children are not possessed—they are predators who must be judged and punished according to both divine and human law.
However, to dismiss the reality of evil—what scripture describes as “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31, 2 Corinthians 4:4)—is to overlook the full spiritual battle outlined in both Old and New Testament texts. The Bible does not depict Satan as an equal to God, but as a deceiver, a corrupter, and an accuser (Revelation 12:9-10). Jesus himself acknowledges the presence of a tempter, warning, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.” (John 8:44).
Psalm 24:1 and Isaiah 45 affirm that God is sovereign, but they do not deny the existence of evil. If that were the case, we would have no need for justice, redemption, or Christ’s sacrifice. If evil were merely a human construct, why would Jesus repeatedly warn against false teachers and wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15)? Why would Paul speak of principalities and powers that wage war against the souls of men (Ephesians 6:12)?
To say there is no evil beyond man is comforting, but it denies the broader spiritual reality presented in scripture. A world where only human frailty exists—without forces of deception, corruption, and destruction—would not match what we see in history or in our own time. The Church’s crimes are both human and demonic—rooted in unchecked power, moral corruption, and the ultimate tool of Satan: deception.
If anything, the failure of institutions like the Catholic Church to protect children is not just a failure of men, but a triumph of evil in its most insidious form—not by possession, but by apathy, silence, and cowardice.
To “bypass the Church” is understandable given its crimes. But bypassing the reality of evil is a deception unto itself. Christ did not die because humanity was merely flawed—he died because the battle against sin and darkness is real.
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ServantOfJudgement
There are two kinds of child abuse here. Those committed by parishioners and those committed by priests.
Does anyone see the priest turning himself in to the fuzz?
Does anyone see the church turning in its donor to the fuzz?
No, I don't think that will happen.
Let's try this instead: When child molestation in the church is discovered to be covered up, close the church, confiscate the property, sell it and give the cash to the victims. Get the monsters(molesters) in the electric chair quick and now. Televise it. Get those that concealed it in prison forever. Televise it.
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Lawrence Pearce
All great ideas except throwing some of them in prison "forever." The reason is that it costs about $50,000 a year to keep one inmate in prison. Multiply $50,000 times 40 years and we're looking at wasting $2 MILLION dollars to keep each convicted criminal alive, fed, housed, clothed, medically treated and entertained till they croak.
Put them to work on chain gangs and let them sleep outside in tents like our US Army soldiers do while living in combat zones. Seizing their assets, making them work and letting them suffer in the cold and heat will educate them and tell others that "if you don't want to do the time, don't do the crimes!"
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Robert Hauck, MD, FAAP
True, the Catholic Church has formalized the confessional and uses its supposed sanctity as an excuse for unlimited confidentiality. In no way is that different from declarations of child abuse to clergy in other faiths. It's an equal playing field across religions. Bottom line: PROTECT OUR CHILDREN.
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Robert Hauck, MD, FAAP
True, the Catholic Church has formalized the confessional and uses its supposed sanctity as an excuse for unlimited confidentiality. In no way is that different from declarations of child abuse to clergy in other faiths. It's an equal playing field across religions. Bottom line: PROTECT OUR CHILDREN.
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Rev. MichaelRS
Okay, so how is it going to be enforced?
First off, while a priest may recognize the voice of some of their regular parishioners who go to confession, in theory the confessional is supposed to be anonymous.
What if some random individual comes in there confesses and leaves? Is the priest supposed report that to the police? Is the priest supposed to run out and try to see if the person drove there and if so get the license plate of his car?
And if the priest doesn't do any of those things, how will they know? Are they going to send undercover officers into churches to "confess to molestation" and if the priest does not report it arrest him?
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James Riggle-Johnson
OMG and WT#? It's hard to ignore the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church's stance on reporting child abuse. They hide behind the facade of religious freedom, conveniently overlooking centuries of horrific abuse committed by their own priests. If they're willing to protect sexual predators in their ranks, it doesn’t surprise me that they would shield parishioners who confess similar sins.
I’m Catholic, and it's disgusting to see the church prioritizing the abuser over the abused, especially children. The insane belief that a stern warning and a parish transfer of a priest would solve the problem is laughable. It clearly didn’t work.
The sanctity of confession shouldn’t protect those who prey on others. The truth is, the concept of confession itself is an artificial construct. If you believe that God hears all prayers, why does one need a middleman? How can reciting a litany of prayers clear you of molesting a child or beating your spouse? Unbelievable!
Given their ability to cover up their own abuses this does not surprise me.