Officials in Washington state have agreed to back off a controversial effort to force priests there to violate the seal of confession as part of a mandatory abuse reporting law. A motion filed in ...

The State of Washington and Catholic clergy members who sued over a recently passed mandatory reporting law have come to an agreement that may put the issue to rest. Clergy members will remain ...

Washington state reached an agreement on Friday that will allow an exception for clergy members within the state's mandatory reporting law. The Washington State Attorney General's Office says clergy ...

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Washington has rolled back its attempt to require priests to inform authorities about child abuse in all instances. Officials reached an agreement with the Catholic church ...

OLYMPIA Wash. (KPTV) - The state of Washington, clergy members and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached an agreement after the DOJ and clergy sued over a new state law making priests and ...

Western Washington was hit with major flooding after multiple atmospheric rivers this week. by Joel Moreno,KOMONewsReporter SEATTLE — Washington state has dropped its efforts to require clergy to ...

OLYMPIA, Wash. – The State of Washington reached an agreement with Catholic priests and the Department of Justice to allow Catholic priests to maintain secrecy while performing the Sacrament of ...

Washington will not require clergy to report suspected child abuse or neglect learned through confession or privileged conversations, following a legal settlement announced Friday. The settlement ...

In May, the state Legislature passed a bill requiring clergy to report child abuse, bringing Washington in line with most of the rest of the country after previous efforts to hold church abuse ...

According to a rumor spreading online in summer 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration does not think clergy should have to report child abuse. Confession is a rite sacred to Catholics in ...