Tacoma, WA – Representing the Most Reverend Robert Barron, Thomas More Society attorneys have filed an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court” brief, urging a federal court to strike down Washington’s Senate Bill 5375, a state law that unconstitutionally requires members of the clergy break the inviolable seal of Confession.

The brief urges both spiritual and legal reasons for the court to prevent this new law from going into effect. The filing argues that Washington’s law forcing priests to violate the seal of Confession unconstitutionally strikes at the heart of the Catholic faith and the free exercise of religion as protected under the First Amendment.  

“Catholics should be outraged that the state should seek to limit a penitent’s access to the font of Grace,” Bishop Barron reacted in a post on X after the brief’s filing. “And in fact, all Americans should stand against this egregious violation of the First Amendment.”

Bishop Barron is one of the most influential Catholic leaders in the country, reaching millions of people each year through his Word on Fire Catholic Ministry, and he is one of the world’s most followed Catholics on social media. He was also recently appointed as a member of the new United States Religious Liberty Commission, formed to offer recommendations to protect religious liberty both at home and abroad. He is Bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester (Minnesota), former Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and former Rector of the University of St. Mary of the Lake / Mundelein Seminary outside Chicago.

In the brief, Thomas More Society attorneys highlight the law’s discriminatory purpose, evidenced by its legislative text and history, which includes the removal of the prior clergy-penitent privilege exception and the sponsoring legislator’s disparaging remarks about Confession, exemplifying an overt and unconstitutional targeting of Catholic religious exercise.

“Bishop Barron’s leadership on this issue reflects the courage and clarity needed when governments attempt to interfere with religion,” said Peter Breen, Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation at Thomas More Society. “This law criminalizes a sacred religious sacrament that is at the core of Catholic religious practice. Since the early days of our Republic, the seal of Confession has been recognized as untouchable, and respected in law and in courts as the rightful domain of the Church—not the state. The Founders understood that each person’s primary duty to God generally supports, rather than conflicts with, the well-being of society—a reality that Washington’s lawmakers have forgotten. We urge the court to uphold this perennial truth and constitutional guarantee by striking down Washington’s SB 5375.”

The proposed amicus brief filed by Thomas More Society attorneys on behalf of Bishop Robert Barron in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, in Etienne v. Ferguson, can be found here.