The drafters of Washington State’s SB 5375 made history on May 2, when Gov. Bob Ferguson signed it into law, shifting the state from one of most lenient on child abuse reporting to one of the strictest — especially concerning clergy and the Sacrament of Confession. That history was muted on Oct. 10 when state and county prosecutors agreed to keep “information clergy learn solely through confession or its equivalent in other faiths” under protected speech.” “Today’s agreement r...
