Between State Mandates and Sacred Confession: SB 5375 and the Complexity of Clergy Abuse Across Denominations

In May 2025, Washington State ignited national controversy by enacting Senate Bill 5375—a law that compels clergy to report suspected child abuse, without exemption for information obtained during religious confession. While well-intentioned in its desire to protect children, the bill has sent shockwaves through religious communities, particularly the Catholic Church, where the seal of confession is not merely a custom, but a sacred, unbreakable vow.

The Seal Under Siege

Under Catholic doctrine, the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) is protected by an absolute seal. A priest may never reveal what is confessed, under any circumstance—not even under the threat of imprisonment or civil penalty. Breaking the seal incurs automatic excommunication. It is this theological and moral conviction that places Catholic clergy at a crossroads under SB 5375.

Canon Law is explicit on this matter:

• Canon 983 §1: "The sacramental seal is inviolable; therefore it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason."
• Canon 1388 §1: "A confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.

These canons underline the seriousness with which the Church guards this sacrament. Any breach by a priest, regardless of the motivation, would not only be a grave sin but a canonical crime, automatically separating the priest from the communion of the Church.

Can Serious Crimes Ever Be Shared?

In cases of grave sin—such as murder, rape, or child abuse—a priest still may not disclose the content of the confession. However, absolution is conditional upon genuine contrition, which in the case of serious crimes typically includes a firm resolution to make amends, including turning oneself into authorities.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states:

• CCC 1451: "Among the penitent's acts contrition occupies first place. Contrition is sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again."
• CCC 1459: "Many sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries)."

Thus, while the priest cannot report a crime, he may withhold absolution if the penitent is unwilling to report themselves or make restitution. The confessor may also strongly urge the penitent to seek justice voluntarily and can condition absolution on that resolve. Still, the priest cannot speak of the matter outside the confessional, even to superiors.

Is the State Overstepping?

With SB 5375, clergy are legally required to report any knowledge or suspicion of child abuse, regardless of how the information is obtained. The law does not distinguish between information gathered through pastoral counseling, public disclosure, or the confessional. This obliteration of spiritual confidentiality has prompted a civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Archdiocese of Seattle has warned that any priest who violates the seal to comply with the law will face excommunication. According to Church teaching, this act is not merely civil disobedience; it is a spiritual betrayal of a divine mandate.

Critics argue that SB 5375 interferes with internal sacramental practice, effectively legislating doctrine in violation of the Establishment Clause. While child safety is a non-negotiable moral imperative, the Catholic Church contends that it already has strict protocols to report and investigate abuse—outside the confessional.

Abuse: A Tragic Universal Reality

Abuse is a societal plague, not confined to any one institution. While Catholic clergy abuse has dominated headlines, abuse statistics across various settings—homes, schools, and Protestant denominations—reveal a sobering truth: no environment is immune.

Abuse in Homes and Homeschooling

A 2024 report in Connecticut highlighted that over 5,000 children were withdrawn from school into homeschooling, many from families with prior abuse allegations. The lack of oversight in some homeschooling environments can become a loophole for abusers, where children disappear from public view and mandatory reporting structures.

Public and Private Schools

Research from the U.S. Department of Education estimates that 1 in 10 students experience sexual misconduct by school personnel by the time they graduate. In one national survey, nearly 9.6% of students reported some form of sexual misconduct from educators. These numbers surpass even the most well-known Catholic Church abuse statistics.

In Ireland, a scoping inquiry into abuse in religious-run schools found 2,400 allegations involving 844 individuals in just 308 schools over several decades.

Catholic Church

The Catholic Church has faced the deepest scrutiny. The John Jay Report (2004) found that over 4,000 clergy were credibly accused in the U.S. between 1950 and 2002. Globally, commissions in Ireland, Australia, and Europe uncovered tens of thousands of cases. The Church has responded with structural reforms, victim compensation programs, and mandated training for clergy and lay personnel. Still, the long shadow of these scandals persists.

Protestant Churches

Less widely reported, but equally disturbing, are abuse cases within Protestant denominations, particularly in Evangelical and Baptist communities.

A 2007 study from the Christian Ministry Resource Center found that Protestant churches had a higher rate of abuse allegations per congregation than Catholic ones during the same period. The Associated Press (2004) reported that more than 700 Protestant leaders had been accused of sexual misconduct in five years.

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)—America’s largest Protestant denomination—came under fire after a Houston Chronicle investigation revealed 700 victims and 380 church leaders involved in abuse allegations over two decades. The decentralized nature of Protestant governance makes tracking and accountability difficult, and critics allege that abusers are often allowed to move quietly between congregations.

A Delicate Balance

The question SB 5375 raises is not whether abuse should be reported—it should. The real issue is how the state ensures protection without eroding religious liberty.

The Catholic Church argues that removing the confessional seal won't solve abuse; rather, it dismantles a sacred institution, alienates penitents, and undermines trust in the very mechanisms that allow abusers to repent and seek change. It also opens the door to future laws that may force clergy of any faith to compromise other deeply held beliefs under state mandate.

Meanwhile, others argue that when religious privilege obstructs justice or shields perpetrators, it becomes a tool of harm rather than healing. The state has a legitimate role in child protection, but that role must be carefully delineated to avoid becoming a de facto theological regulator.

What do the numbers say?

Determining the precise ratio of child sexual abuse across Catholic, Protestant, home, and school settings is complex due to variations in reporting practices, institutional structures, and the availability of comprehensive data. However, existing research provides some insights into the prevalence of abuse in these environments.

1. Catholic Church In France, an independent inquiry revealed that at least 330,000 children were victims of sexual abuse by clergy and lay members of the French Catholic Church over the past 70 years. In Australia, a Royal Commission found that over 60% of survivors who reported abuse in religious institutions cited the Catholic Church.  
In the United States, the John Jay Report documented over 4,000 clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse between 1950 and 2002.

2. Protestant Churches A 2007 study by the Christian Ministry Resource Center found that Protestant churches had a higher rate of abuse allegations per congregation than Catholic ones during the same period. In Germany, a 2023 report revealed that at least 2,225 people suffered sexual violence in the Protestant Church at the hands of 1,259 suspected perpetrators over the last eight decades.

3. Public and Private Schools Research from the U.S. Department of Education estimates that 9.6% of students experience sexual misconduct by school personnel by the time they graduate. A 2019 report indicated that sexual abuse by school teachers is proportionally higher than by Catholic priests, with about 5–7% of public school teachers committing sexual abuse compared to 4% of Catholic priests.

4. Home Environment Studies indicate that approximately 15% to 25% of women and 5% to 15% of men in the U.S. were sexually abused when they were children, with many cases occurring in the home environment.

Comparative Overview

               Setting                                                                                                                                                Estimated Prevalence

• Catholic Church                                                                                   Significant, with notable cases in France (330,000 victims) and Australia (60% of religious abuse cases)
• Protestant Churches                                                                            Higher rate of allegations per congregation; over 2,225 victims in Germany alone
• Public/Private Schools                                                                          Approximately 9.6% of students experience misconduct; higher proportional abuse than in Catholic Church
• Home Environment                                                                              15–25% of women and 5–15% of men report childhood sexual abuse, often occurring at home

Safeguarding the Vulnerable and the Sacred

Child protection and religious liberty must not be pitted against one another as adversaries. Both can and should coexist within a just society. Senate Bill 5375 may have been drafted with noble intent, but its implementation demands nuance and constitutional clarity.

Abuse is real, widespread, and devastating—whether it occurs in a rectory, a Baptist Sunday school, a public classroom, or a family home. But if in our zeal to protect the vulnerable we begin eroding the sacred, we risk substituting one injustice for another.

The challenge now before Washington—and the nation—is to craft legislation that honors the dignity of survivors without desecrating the sanctity of conscience. In this, we must be both bold and wise, resolute and respectful, vigilant and free.

While the Catholic Church has faced extensive scrutiny and documented cases of child sexual abuse, research indicates that Protestant churches may have a higher rate of abuse allegations per congregation. Furthermore, public and private schools exhibit a higher proportional rate of abuse compared to religious institutions. The home environment remains a significant setting for child sexual abuse, highlighting the pervasive nature of this issue across various societal institutions.

It's essential to approach these findings with an understanding of the complexities involved in reporting and documenting abuse, as well as the varying structures of these institutions.

God Bless