Confession, the Catholic and Orthodox practice of listing one’s sins in the presence of a priest who then offers absolution and is sworn to secrecy under pain of eternal damnation, has long been a ...

The state law, in Washington, applies to all religions but has outraged Catholics in particular. The Justice Department is investigating. By Ruth Graham Ruth Graham covers faith and religion. The ...

One supporter of the law, a member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, called the court decision "a ...

While clergy are often mandatory reporters outside of the confessional, long-standing legal precedent in the U.S. recognizes the religious freedom of confessors and penitents to be exempt from those ...

Ben Johnson is senior reporter and editor at The Washington Stand. A newly enacted law forcing priests to reveal the details of their members’ private confessions under penalty of fine or imprisonment ...

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of Washington over its recent law mandating that priests must violate the seal of confession if child abuse is learned about during the ...

Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly is urging Catholic voters in Washington state to oppose a proposed law that would order priests to violate the seal of confession in cases where child abuse is revealed ...

A motion filed in federal district court Oct. 10 affirmed that state and local governments would stop attempting to require ...

In Etienne v. Ferguson, the Archdiocese of Seattle and the dioceses of Spokane and Yakima argued that the new law violated ...

Washington has abandoned its effort to force Catholic priests and other religious leaders to divulge information on child ...