OLYMPIA, Washington (LifeSiteNews) — Citing his alleged Catholic faith, Washington’s leftist Democratic Governor Bob Ferguson signed a bill today that orders priests to divulge when they hear of purported abuse in the confessional – or face potential jail time.

The governor also cited his uncle, a Jesuit priest, when signing the bill.

Ferguson is a liberal, pro-abortion, pro-LGBT governor. While running for governor, but still serving as attorney general, he threatened prosecution against several other candidates with the same name. He also initiated legally dubious investigations into pro-life nonprofits while serving as attorney general. He additionally supports prosecuting Christians who decline to provide their services to homosexual “weddings.”

BREAKING: Washington’s left-wing governor signed legislation forcing priests to divulge abuse if they hear of it in the Confessional.

The nominally Catholic governor cited his faith, and his Jesuit priest uncle. pic.twitter.com/VtzRVB9eHd

— Matt Lamb (@MattLamb22) May 2, 2025

READ: Washington state Democrats pass bill effectively legalizing infanticide

SB 5375 is the latest attempt by Washington state Sen. Noel Frame to force Catholic priests to break the Seal of Confession and reveal what they hear in the confessional – or go to jail. The bill explicitly singles out priests, removing their “privileged communication” exception, while allowing it for professionals who may hear of abuse.

Frame previously cited the Catholic Church’s support for penitential secrecy in her decision to no longer practice Catholicism. However, she already had a history of supporting abortion and the LGBT movement, as LifeSiteNews previously reported.

“At this time the Washington State Catholic Conference has no comment,” Tracey Yackley told LifeSiteNews on Friday morning when asked prior to the signing for comment.

The debate over the bill often involved severe misunderstandings of how the Catholic Church operates, with some people asking why the late Pope Francis could not simply change the Church’s teaching about the Seal of Confession. Frame herself berated Seattle Auxiliary Bishop Frank Schuster for not agreeing with her on this bill. Bishop Schuster shared how he counseled victims of abuse and could still help them while protecting Confession.

Last year, a similar bill that was backed by the Washington Catholic Conference, though not by all bishops in the state, died.

At the time, Frame and the Catholic conference gave contradictory explanations for the bill. Frame told her colleagues that she wanted to go further and eliminate all exemptions but that such a bill could not pass. Meanwhile, the Catholic conference said it supported this bill because it feared a law eliminating all exemptions would pass, as LifeSiteNews previously reported.

This year, Frame’s bill includes no exemptions at all for the religious liberties of priests. It passed the state senate 28 to 20 – all but two Democrats voted to violate the religious freedom of Catholics and remove the clergy-penitent privilege. All Republicans voted against the measure on February 28.

Senate Bill 5375 and House Bill 1211 in the state of Washington are “no exemption” bills that remove all protections for what priests hear in Confession when it comes to alleged abuse. Frame said the bill will not compel priests to testify but only to report abuse. However, that is not written in the text of the law.

Furthermore, a priest would presumably have to reveal the name of a person admitting to the abuse in the confessional in order to alert authorities about a child who might allegedly be at risk, as LifeSiteNews previously reported.

Frame previously dismissed religious freedom concerns during a hearing. “I have tried really hard over the last couple of years to find a balance and to strike a careful compromise,” she claimed before saying “sorry” for not being willing to “make a compromise anymore.” She criticized efforts to protect clergy-penitent privilege “in the name of religious freedom.”

Yet canon law is incredibly clear on this issue.

Canon 1386 states, “A confessor (priest) 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.”

Efforts to force priests to do so, including Montana and Washington this year, have drawn condemnation from Catholic groups as well as several legal experts.

“Putting aside the obvious violation of the sanctity of the confessional, it presents a novel problem for priests if they both encourage the faithful to unburden themselves while at the same time reminding them anything that they say can and will be used against them in a court of law,” Professor Jonathan Turley previously wrote on his commentary website.

“In my view, the Washington State law is a frontal attack on free exercise and would be struck down if enacted,” the George Washington University law professor wrote.

“The only question is why Democrats consider such legislation to be any more viable politically than it is constitutionally.”