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 Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced a First Amendment inquiry Monday into the Washington law, Senate Bill 5375, after Governor Bob Ferguson (D) signed it last week. The legislation specifically singles out “members of the clergy” as “supervisors” who cannot use existing legal privileges to defend themselves from its reporting requirements.
