"Catholic" governor of WA signs law requiring priests to break the seal of the confessional

The great state of Washington is known to be liberal in its politics and policies, every bit as much as its neighbours of the Left Coast. On Friday, its governor, Bob Ferguson (D - are you surprised?) signed a controversial state law that requires priests to report child abuse to authorities, even if they learn of it during the Sacrament of Confession.

The measure, introduced in the state Legislature earlier this year, adds clergy to the list of mandatory abuse reporters in the state but doesn't include the exemption for information learned in the confessional which was written into the 2023 version of bill. 

The original version carved out abuse allegations learned "solely as a result of a confession." The latest bill explicitly notes that clergy do not qualify for a "privileged communication" exemption. 

Just like Sleepy Joe Biden, Governor Ferguson calls himseslf a Catholic. He told the meejua that as a Catholic he was "very familiar" with the Sacrament of Confession. He did not say, though, when he last availed himself of the sacrament, or whether he intended to do so at the first opportunity, to confess to the grave sin of putting the laws of Caesar ahead of those of God. 

Apparently Mr Ferguson either did not attend RK class at school, or was instructed by some modernist who doesn't know the Faith. Canon law is explicit that any priest who breaks the seal of the confessional is, by so doing, automatically excommunicated from the Church, and, as part of that, is no longer a priest. He can only be reinstated by order of the pope (in practice the local ordinary). 

Most Rev. Thomas Daly, the Bishop of Spokane, issued a statement on Friday saying that the clergy of his diocese would not break the seal of confession, even if required to by law. "[S]hepherds, bishop and priests," the bishop said, "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 added. "As this matter continues to unfold, I intend on keeping you informed and updated. An important element to the greatness of America is our constitutional commitment to religious freedom."