U.S. Justice Department investigating new WA law requiring clergy to report child abuse

The federal Department of Justice is investigating Washington state over a new policy about child abuse.

It comes days after Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, signed a measure into law requiring members of the clergy to report abuse – even if they learn such information in confidential religious spaces, like confession. The law takes effect July 27.

In a statement announcing the investigation Monday, the Justice Department called the new law "anti-Catholic" and said that any violation of religious freedoms "cannot stand." But the policy's backers reject the notion that it targets one religion over others, and they say the law enhances protections for children in spaces that have been exploited by abusers.

Gov. Ferguson offered a short written comment in defense of the policy Tuesday.

"We look forward to protecting Washington kids from sexual abuse in the face of this 'investigation' from the Trump Administration," Ferguson wrote in a statement.

Lawmakers in Olympia approved the legislation, Senate Bill 5375, earlier this year following multiple past attempts to create such a policy. It adds clergy members to the state's list of mandatory child abuse reporters. Prior to the bill's passage, Washington was one of just five states that did not include clergy members as mandatory reporters of child abuse.

Sen. Noel Frame, a Democrat from Seattle, sponsored the bill. A survivor of childhood abuse, Frame told KUOW she was motivated to file the legislation again this year after the news outlet Investigate West reported on abuses among Jehovah's Witnesses in Washington state.

"Mandatory reporting laws are all about interrupting that abuse, checking on that kid, making sure they're safe, and I believe that many kids are going to be protected by the passage of this law," Frame said. She added that the new policy was the result of years of working with abuse survivors from religious communities.

Frame said that she views the new law as legally sound, and that she sees the federal investigation as "blatantly political."

But opponents to the measure argue it goes too far for including the language forcing clergy members to report on abuses revealed during confidential religious communications.

Jean Hill, the executive director for the Washington State Catholic Conference, said the law violates the First Amendment's protections of religious expression. Priests are sworn to secrecy in confession and are automatically excommunicated if they reveal what's said, Hill told KUOW.

"Having the state say, 'It's okay if you're going to be excommunicated because you're going to do what we say,' is a very big concern," Hill said. "Our priests are not going to be able to comply."

Hill told lawmakers earlier this year, as they were considering the change, that she supports making clergy mandatory reporters of abuse – but that the state should not interfere in sacred spaces.

Hill now says she's cautiously optimistic about the Justice Department's involvement, though she added that she's wary of federal intervention and would prefer that state officials adjust the law on their own.

A handful of other states, including New Hampshire and West Virginia, also require clergy to share information from confidential religious acts, like confession, in order to report child abuse or cooperate with investigations.

The Justice Department did not respond to questions about whether it is laying the groundwork for a legal challenge to Washington's new law, or if other states with similar policies will also face investigation.