Gov. Ferguson signs historic bill, mandates clergy to report child abuse — no exemptions
News Brief by Cassy Benefield | FāVS News
Senate Bill 5375 made Washington history Friday by becoming the bill that moved the state from being one of the most permissive states on child abuse reporting laws to one of the strictest. This, after over 20 years trying to change it.
Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, the last legislator to work toward this change proposed the bill in three different variations over the last three legislative sessions. On April 22, SB 5375 — a version that adds clergy to the list of mandatory reporters and removes clergy-penitent privilege in cases of child abuse and neglect — made it to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s desk awaiting action.
On May 2 at 10:30 a.m. that action was his signature.
“This bill protects Washingtonians from abuse and harm, and I’ll say on a personal note, I’m Catholic as some of you know,” Ferguson said introducing the bill before he signed it. He went on and noted his uncle was a Jesuit priest for many years in the Northwest.
“I also have a personal perspective on this. Protecting our kids … ,” he said, going quieter for a moment sounding like he choked back some emotion before continuing. “ … putting our kids first is the most important thing. For me, this is very clear, very clear legislation. And important legislation.”
Before he congratulated the legislators and individuals who spent years working on this bill, he took a moment to honor the victims of child abuse, many at the hands of persons in clergy roles, who shared their stories with the elected officials.
“Often those stories are challenging to share with the elected officials. So we know that’s not always easy in the best of circumstances, but especially when it’s a challenging subject. Sometimes it’s especially difficult,” Ferguson said. “So we just on behalf of everybody here on the legislative side, we really appreciate all of you and many others who couldn’t be here today on that.”
Many of those who did share their stories stood with him as he signed the bill. Sara Fox was one of them. She became aware of this bill through Marino Hardin, the whistleblower who’s knowledge of abuse got InvestigateWest’s attention for their October 2022 exposé on child sexual abuse within Jehovah’s Witness congregations in Washington. This was the article that inspired Frame to get this law in motion.
Fox and Hardin are ex-Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Hardin sought out Fox’s support on the bill when he discovered she helped prevent child abuse in Jehovah’s Witness churches in Australia and New Zealand.
For example, one of Fox’s points to prosecutors overseas and before legislators on SB 5375 in her testimonies remained that Jehovah’s witnesses teach their children anything in the outside world is Satan and demonic. So, the idea children will tell someone outside their congregations about child abuse will not happen. She said this is why it is important to make clergy mandatory reporters with the clergy-penitent privilege not exempted. Hardin agrees. Jehovah’s Witnesses tend to follow such an exemption when it is specified in the state.
“Based on the church’s policy in other states that have mandatory reporting with no exceptions, they would have reported the cases I knew about if the law had required it,” Hardin said. “And going forward, I believe many future cases will be reported.”
Because of the bill’s passage, Hardin said, he remains “grateful that there will be far fewer children going without help; and far fewer repeat abusers moving from Kingdom Hall to Kingdom Hall, venue to venue, leaving a trail of hurt individuals behind them.”
Marino and Fox credit the bill’s passing to the organizational effort of the Catholic Accountability Project’s (CAP) Clergy Accountability Coalition (CAC) and their ability to work across divides.
“Year three, we’ve all come together. You have people that are Catholic or people that were Jehovah’s Witnesses. You have people from all these different denominations,” she said. “We’ve even seen high schoolers from Lake Washington High School who have no affiliation to any religion that we’ve been able to connect with and through their testimony continue to add to the network of people.”
“So we’ve definitely been able to be more strategic this year around,” Fox said. “And I think we’ve seen it pay off, right?” Fox said.
Also on Friday, before the governor’s signature, the Washington State Catholic Conference (WSCC), the public policy voice of the bishops in the state, emailed out their weekly Advocacy Bulletin. In it they name SB 5375 an “invasion of the confessional” and that “lobbying for vetoes on bills” like it are “under way from a number of different entities.”
FāVS News asked their contact at WSCC if they are one of those entities. WSCC Operations Manager Tracey Wilson Yackley responded back with “no comment at this time.”
On behalf of the Diocese of Spokane, the Most Rev. Thomas A. Daly, reiterated his previous statements on SB 5375.
“This week, Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson signed into law Senate Bill 5375, which seeks to force priests to violate the Seal of Confession,” Daly said. “I want to assure you that your shepherds, bishop and priests, are committed to keeping the seal of confession — even to the point of going to jail. The Sacrament of Penance is sacred and will remain that way in the Diocese of Spokane.”
He closed the announcement with stating the greatness of America’s Constitutional commitment to religious freedom.
Monsignor Robert M. Siler, episcopal vicar and chancellor of the Diocese of Yakima, shared his personal comment, not on behalf of his diocese or other bishops in the state.
“In my 24 years as a priest, the few confessions I have heard involving child abuse have been from those trying to reconcile events from long ago, involving victims who are now adults,” Siler said. “I have always counseled accountability in some form, trusting that offenders are trying to make things right with God and with those whom they have hurt.”
For over 18 years, Siler has been overseeing his diocese’s Safe Environment efforts, with victims as their first priority. He fears this legislation will make matters worse.
“As offenders get word of it and begin avoiding a religious practice meant to help them both atone for their sins and firmly resolve to sin no more,” he said.
Before Gov. Ferguson signed the bill, he said the Bishops of Washington State wrote the governor asking for a meeting to discuss vetoing this legislation even though the church supports clergy as mandatory reporters in “virtually all circumstances, with the narrow exception of the Sacrament of Confession.” If priests break this seal, they will be excommunicated. Siler said he was not aware if Ferguson responded back.
Washington joins the six states — New Hampshire, West Virginia, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas — that deny privilege for confidential communication in cases of child abuse and neglect.
The bill’s supporters are triumphing over this victory, but not for themselves.
“On behalf of our children and grandchildren, whom you never forgot — Thank you!,” said CAP member Sharon Huling to the activists and supporters in CAC. “On behalf of the Clergy Accountability Coalition — Thank you for daring to imagine what we have now achieved together! … We did it!”
