A new bill before the Arizona house will force priests and pastors to break their seal of confession. House Bill 2039 could also require priests or pastors to testify about confessions in court about child abuse cases.
The bill states a member of the clergy, the Christian Science practitioner or the priest may withhold reporting of the communication or confession unless there is reasonable suspicion to believe the abuse is ongoing, will continue or may be a threat to other minors.
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State House Minority Whip Stacey Travers told a Phoenix publication the Catholic Church tries to hide “behind the sanctity of the confessional.”
“There needs to be something to protect children — if you know who the abuser is and you understand there to be multiple instances of that abuse,” she told The Center Square. “In my mind, the welfare of the child should always take precedence.”
A similar law was passed in Washington in July 2025. The U.S. Department of Justice sued the state, saying the law violates religious freedom.
“SB 5375 directly interferes with the fundamental right of Catholic priests to freely exercise their religion by forcing them to violate the sanctity and confidentiality of confessional communications,” the DOJ’s complaint states.
In October, Washington State settled the lawsuit. Clergy members can uphold the sacrament of Confession. The state did designate them as mandatory reporters outside of confession.
About half of the states in the U.S. have designated clergy as mandatory reporters. At least 18 others say any person, including clergy, must report any suspected child abuse.
However, many of those laws do carve out an exception for instances like confessions.
Catholic Canon Law states a priest is “prohibited completely from using knowledge acquired from confession to the detriment of the penitent even when any danger of revelation is excluded.” Violating the law will result in excommunication.
Straight Arrow News is awaiting comment from the Diocese of Phoenix.
