Senate Bill 5375 ‘violates freedom of religion for all Catholics, while requiring Catholic priests to violate the confidentiality seal of Confession’

A staunch defender of the First Amendment, the Washington State Republican Party (WAGOP) fully supports the actions of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its lawsuit against WA state over a new state law, Senate Bill 5375, that violates freedom of religion for all Catholics, while requiring Catholic priests to violate the confidentiality seal of Confession.

“The court action by the DOJ is much bigger than the Catholic Church or any specific religion,” says WAGOP Chairman Jim Walsh. “Various churches and religions have already filed suit against this unconstitutional law. The controversy and these lawsuits pertain to protecting the First Amendment to the US Constitution and Article 1, Section 11, of the Washington State Constitution. Current WA Gov. Bob Ferguson made a serious mistake by signing into law unconstitutional legislation promoted by anti-religion zealots. As someone who’s read our state constitution, he should have recognized the proposal — which was originally designed to attack Jehovah’s Witnesses — would fail even the simplest application of Article 1, Section 11. During the House floor debate on SB 537, we pointed out its constitutional defects. It clearly violates Article 1, Section 11, of the Washington State Constitution. We want to end child sex abuse, but SB 5375 was never the right way. Gov. Ferguson should have known better than to sign it.”

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division also weighed in on the DOJ’s motion to intervene in Etienne v. Ferguson that is pending before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington:

“Laws that explicitly target religious practices such as the Sacrament of Confession in the Catholic Church have no place in our society. Senate Bill 5375 unconstitutionally forces Catholic priests in Washington to choose between their obligations to the Catholic Church and their penitents or face criminal consequences, while treating the priest-penitent privilege differently than other well-settled privileges. The Justice Department will not sit idly by when States mount attacks on the free exercise of religion.”

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