Bishops in Washington’s three Catholic dioceses announced Thursday that they will sue the state over a law signed by Democratic Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on May 2, requiring priests to break the seal of confession.
The May 29 lawsuit stated that “Washington is targeting the Roman Catholic Church in a brazen act of religious discrimination.” The suit charges Ferguson in his capacity as governor, alongside key state officials such as the Attorney General and the prosecuting attorneys of the all 39 of the state’s counties.
Since Ferguson signed Senate Bill 5375 on May 2, the Catholic Church has voiced its opposition. The Civil Rights Division of the Trump administration’s Department of Justice announced on May 5 that it was launching a First Amendment investigation of the law.
