Washington state legislators consider clergy accountability bill

State senators in Olympia, Wash., on Monday were set to consider legislation that would require clergy to report instances of child abuse and neglect. The requirement would include admissions of child abuse made during confession. Senators are scheduled to hold a public hearing about the legislation on Tuesday, said the Catholic Accountability Project, known as CAP.

Has this bill been proposed before? Similar bills have been brought up for consideration for three consecutive years, CAP said. Each time, the Catholic church and its clergy have opposed the legislation, the advocacy group said. For months, Washington’s attorney general has been investigating the Catholic church for child abuse and institutional concealment, CAP said. The Archdiocese of Seattle has also refused to hand over documents pertaining to instances of child abuse within the church.

Have other states passed similar legislation? If the state’s legislature passes the bill and Gov. Bob Ferguson signs it, Washington would be the seventh state to enact a clergy accountability law. Six other states—New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, and West Virginia—have employed similar laws, according to the Catholic Accountability Project.

Dig deeper: Read R. Albert Mohler Jr.’s column in WORLD Opinions about what recent scandals in the Anglican church can teach Christians elsewhere.