Washington state Senate advances bill requiring clergy to report child abuse

Proposal exempts knowledge gained during confession with limited exception

Image of confessional booth adapted from photo by Mateus Campos Felipe; licensed by Unsplash.

In an 1813 law case known as People v. Philipps, a New York court upheld the right of a Catholic priest to refuse to provide the identity of a thief after the priest returned the stolen items. That marked the official beginning in the United States of the clergy…