Washington State Passes Law Against the Seal of the Confessional

[Doom]

Under the law, proposed by the Attorney General, who also wants a law forcing churches to perform gay marriages, priests would be required to tell the police if someone confesses sexual abuse during confession, something which I have to assume rarely, if ever happens, and they will go to jail if they refuse.

The law is unenforceable because there is no way the state could know what someone has confessed to be in a position to be able to compel a priest to talk.

But that isn't the point, the point is to make it clear to the Church that the state is supreme and that the Church is to bend the knee to the state.

The Department of Justice is already investigating, and how lucky we are that we don't have a Democratic administration right now, because whether it was Biden or Harris, neither of them would have a problem with this law. We are talking about people who are so stubborn they have spent the last 10 years trying to force nuns to provide contraception.

[zeno]

Horrible.

[Riverboat]

Your post impelled me to look into this matter. Sure enough - not that I doubted you - "the new legislation was approved by a vote of 64-31 in the House and 28-20 in the Senate. It goes into effect in July."

It seems that things really came to a head during Coronamania, not to mention the overturning of Roe v Wade. At the very least, we shall see what kind of mettle our clerics are made of in our northwest corner.

[Doom]

The bishops have already renounced the law and said they will not comply and that any priest who does comply will be excommunicated

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Can. 1388 §1 A confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal, incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; he who does so only indirectly is to be punished according to the gravity of the offence.

[Tired]

I have no problem nor qualms about saying the Washington governor is an idiot. He knows this isn't anything that can survive a court challenge. gaslightiing at its finest.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

He's Catholic.

Also, note that a majority of both houses voted in favor. More grandstanding.

[Doom]

He's Catholic.

Also, note that a majority of both houses voted in favor. More grandstanding.

But the real culprit is the Attorney General an angry former Catholic with an axe to grind. She spen 4 years pushing for this law, she has also been pushing a law to force churches to perform gay marriages.

They know this is unconstitutional, unenforceable and will be struck down. They don’t care, this is about throwing down the gauntlet and making it clear who is in control.

[Riverboat]

But the real culprit is the Attorney General an angry former Catholic [woman] with an axe to grind.

My web search yields Nick Brown. Are you thinking of Christine Gregoire?

[BobCatholic]

Interesting how SOCAS only applies one way

Double standard = corruption.

[Doom]

But the real culprit is the Attorney General an angry former Catholic [woman] with an axe to grind.

My web search yields Nick Brown. Are you thinking of Christine Gregoire?

Frame

[peregrinator]

He's Catholic.

Also, note that a majority of both houses voted in favor. More grandstanding.

But the real culprit is the Attorney General an angry former Catholic with an axe to grind. She spen 4 years pushing for this law, she has also been pushing a law to force churches to perform gay marriages.

They know this is unconstitutional, unenforceable and will be struck down. They don’t care, this is about throwing down the gauntlet and making it clear who is in control.

It's very obviously unconstitutional since the law only applies to privileged communications with clergy (and not with lawyers or therapists). I don't think it's unenforceable though.

[Riverboat]

Frame

Frame? Okay, now all I'm getting is . . . frames.

[Doom]

Her name is Noel Frame, she is a former Catholic who says she left the Church because she was outraged when she learned about the seal of the confessional, and has spent the last 4 years aggressively pushing for a law that would outlaw secrecy in confession, the other law she had advocated would remove the tax exempt status of any Church that refuses to perform gay weddings.

[Riverboat]

"[S]he was outraged when she learned about the seal of the confessional. . . "

Whoo-wee! Wait'll she finds out wimmen aren't allowed to be priests, either.

[Doom]

Don't give her more ideas