Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church

Washington state’s governor signed a law on May 1, 2025, that threatens priests with up to one year in jail if they fail to report child abuse they learn about during the sacrament of confession. / Credit: Romana Klee via Flickr

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2025 / 16:11 pm (CNA).

The new law, signed by Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson last week, adds members of the clergy to the list of mandatory reporters for child abuse.

Washington state’s governor signed a law on May 1, 2025, that threatens priests with up to one year in jail if they fail to report child abuse they learn about during the sacrament of confession. / Credit: Romana Klee via Flickr

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2025 / 16:11 pm (CNA).

President Donald Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating an “anti-Catholic law” in Washington state that threatens priests with up to one year in jail if they fail to report child abuse they learn about during the sacrament of confession.

The new law, signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson last week, adds members of the clergy to the list of mandatory reporters for child abuse. It specifically states that clergy must report abuse, even if it is learned of during “privileged communication.” All other mandatory reporters, such as nurses and therapists, are exempt from the reporting requirements when the information is obtained during “privileged communication.”

A priest who refuses to report information learned during confession could be sent to jail for up to 364 days and receive a fine of up to $5,000.

In a press release, the DOJ expressed that one of its primary concerns is that the law seems to single out priests and confession. The law exempts most privileged communication from the mandatory reporting law but denies that right to priests by including the phrase “except for members of the clergy.”

“The law appears to single out clergy as not entitled to assert applicable privileges, as compared to other reporting professionals,” the DOJ wrote. “We take this matter very seriously and look forward to Washington state’s cooperation with our investigation.”

Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, sent a letter to the governor and called the mandate a “legislative attack on the Catholic Church and its sacrament of confession, a religious practice ordained by the Catholic Church dating back to the Church’s origins.”

“Not only does this new law put state authorities in direct conflict with the free exercise of a well-established religion, but your law demands that priests disobey one of the Catholic Church’s first authorities related to confession,” she wrote. “This state command runs afoul of the First Amendment.”

Dhillon cited Catholic canon law, which states that “it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in manner and for any reason.”

Bishops: ‘Confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential’

The Washington State Catholic Conference, which represents the state’s Catholic bishops, put out a statement to assure Catholics that “their confessions remain sacred, secure, confidential, and protected by the law of the Church.”

“Catholic clergy may not violate the seal of confession — or they will be excommunicated from the Church,” the statement, signed by Seattle Archbishop Paul D. Etienne, added.

The bishop noted that Church policy requires priests to report knowledge of child abuse to the police but “not if this information is obtained during confession.” He wrote that the bishops are committed to working with civil authorities in ways that do not impugn the seal of confession.

“The Catholic Church agrees with the goal of protecting children and preventing child abuse,” the statement added. “The Archdiocese of Seattle remains committed to reporting child sexual abuse, working with victim survivors towards healing, and protecting all minors and vulnerable people.”

However, Etienne wrote: “While we remain committed to protecting minors and all vulnerable people from abuse, priests cannot comply with this law if the knowledge of abuse is obtained during the sacrament of reconciliation.”

The bishop recalled the first reading from this past Sunday’s Mass, in which apostles were arrested and thrown in jail for preaching Christianity, and cites St. Peter’s remark to the Sanhedrin: “We must obey God rather than men.”

“This is our stance now in the face of this new law,” he wrote.

Eric Kniffin, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), told CNA that the new law “discriminates against religion on its face, which is really unusual.”

Kniffin told CNA that over the last three years, he has “warned the Washington Legislature that a law that invades the clergy-penitent privilege would be challenged and found unconstitutional.”

“I am confident that there will be litigation over this and that the law will be struck down,” he said.

He noted that the DOJ investigation “does not commit the government to a particular course of action,” but added: “I am encouraged that the DOJ is concerned about this law, and I believe the United States will look for opportunities to come alongside the religious plaintiffs in litigation.”

Kniffin praised Washington state’s bishops for publicly committing to safeguard the seal of confession but also warned that “it’s hard for bishops to reassure Catholics when the law is asserting the right to force priests to break their vows.”

“It is reasonable for the bishops to fear that the law could affect whether someone goes to confession or what they say in confession,” he said.

“This law casts a cloud of doubt over the confessional,” he continued, “and that fear of government discourages people from exercising their First Amendment rights.”

New York state capitol in Albany. / Credit: Nina Alizada/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2025 / 15:41 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Timothy Dolan this week called New York legislation aiming to legalize medical assisted suicide “a disaster waiting to happen.”

New York state capitol in Albany. / Credit: Nina Alizada/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2025 / 15:41 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Timothy Dolan this week called New York legislation aiming to legalize medical assisted suicide “a disaster waiting to happen.”

New York state capitol in Albany. / Credit: Nina Alizada/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, May 6, 2025 / 15:41 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Timothy Dolan this week called New York legislation aiming to legalize medical assisted suicide “a disaster waiting to happen” after the state Assembly advanced the measure last week.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Dolan — the archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York — said: “For people of faith who believe in the sanctity of life from conception to natural death, the very idea of having a doctor give you a prescription to end your life prematurely is contrary to everything we cherish.”

“But one need not be religious to see that assisted suicide is a terrible idea. It is a classic Pandora’s box; once opened, its consequences cannot be contained.”

The New York State Assembly passed the Medical Aid in Dying Act in New York on April 29 in an 81–67 vote. If passed into law, the legislation will allow terminally ill adults to request medication to end their own lives.

Dolan on Tuesday reflected on the last weeks of Pope Francis’ life and how he was “not afraid to let us watch him die, much like his beloved predecessor, Pope St. John Paul II.” 

“Both men knew that our worth is based on who we are as children of God, not on what we can do,” the archbishop wrote.

Dolan highlighted that the New York bill lacks safety guidelines, arguing that the medication can be prescribed by any kind of doctor and the meeting to request the medication is not required to be held in person. 

Patients also do not have to be asked if they have ever contemplated suicide or been treated for any mental health conditions.

“How is this compassion?” Dolan said on Tuesday, arguing that the measure forces doctors “to lie on death certificates by claiming the cause of death was the person’s underlying illness and not what actually killed him or her — the lethal combination of drugs.”

He explained the bill follows successful work by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to bring suicide rates in New York down. Hochul spearheaded initiatives to help schools, hospitals, first responders, and veterans and a hotline during a “mental health crisis.”

Dolan said he commended her “highly successful suicide prevention efforts.” 

“But,” he continued, “a new law that sanctions suicide while the state simultaneously pursues a policy of suicide prevention amounts to cutting holes into one side of a boat while bailing water from the other.”

Dolan pointed to the Catholic Church’s “long and proud history in health care.”

“We opened America’s first hospitals. We’ve cared for the casualties of war, measles, homelessness, illness, violence, AIDS, and all diseases and ailments known to man. We’ve also cared for our fellow humans’ emotional, psychological, and spiritual ailments.”

“State-sanctioned suicide turns everything society knows and believes about medicine on its head,” Dolan said. “Doctors go from healers to killers.”

Meanwhile, “what is proposed as compassion for the suffering terminally ill” becomes “a duty, as the elderly, the disabled, and the sick feel pressured to end their lives and stop being an inconvenience to others.”

“All stages of life provide lessons — to ourselves and others — but perhaps none more so than life’s end, as Pope Francis so eloquently taught,” the cardinal said.

Dolan noted that Pope Francis called assisted suicide the “discarding of the patient” and “false compassion.” 

“New York and all our states can do better than this,” Dolan said. 

“Let us instead focus our formidable efforts on strengthening care for people at the end of life. They are finishing the race. Let them go with their hands held high, the way God and nature intended,” the prelate said.

Cardinals celebrate the ninth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on the third Sunday of Easter, May 4, 2025, at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, May 6, 2025 / 15:11 pm (CNA).

Cardinals reflected on the service and legacy of Pope Francis’ pontificate, highlighting his strong work ethic and focus on mercy and offering advice to their fellow cardinals.

Cardinals celebrate the ninth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on the third Sunday of Easter, May 4, 2025, at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, May 6, 2025 / 15:11 pm (CNA).

Cardinals reflected on the service and legacy of Pope Francis’ pontificate, highlighting his strong work ethic and focus on mercy and offering advice to their fellow cardinals.

Cardinals celebrate the ninth Novendiales Mass for Pope Francis on the third Sunday of Easter, May 4, 2025, at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

Vatican City, May 6, 2025 / 15:11 pm (CNA).

Cardinals on Sunday concluded the celebration of nine requiem Masses for the nine days of mourning for Pope Francis. In many cases their homilies emphasized the relatable feelings of worry, fear, and sadness the apostles experienced after Christ’s death, relating it to the “‘sede vacante” and the uncertainty around the election of a new pope — and reminding Catholics of the joy and hope brought by the Resurrection.

They also reflected on the service and legacy of Pope Francis’ pontificate, highlighting his strong work ethic and focus on mercy and offering advice to their fellow cardinals for choosing his successor.

“As in the time of the first disciples, there are successes and also failures, fatigue, and fear” during this time following Pope Francis’ death, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of the Diocese of Rome, said on April 28. “The horizon is immense, and temptations creep in that veil the one thing that matters: to desire, seek, and labor in anticipation of ‘a new heaven and a new earth.’” 

Here are some of the other memorable quotes from the nine homilies, which began with Pope Francis’ funeral on April 26 and concluded on May 4, the third Sunday of Easter.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, former secretary of state, on April 27:

“The risen Jesus appears to his disciples while they are in the upper room where they have fearfully shut themselves in, with the doors locked (John 20:19). Their state of mind is disturbed and their hearts are full of sadness, because the master and shepherd they had followed, leaving everything behind, has been nailed to the cross. They experienced terrible things and feel orphaned, alone, lost, threatened, and helpless.

“The opening image that the Gospel offers us on this Sunday can also well represent the state of mind of all of us, of the Church, and of the entire world. The shepherd whom the Lord gave to his people, Pope Francis, has ended his earthly life and has left us. The grief at his departure, the sense of sadness that assails us, the turmoil we feel in our hearts, the sense of bewilderment: We are experiencing all of this, like the apostles grieving over the death of Jesus.

“The joy of Easter, which sustains us in this time of trial and sadness, is something that can almost be touched in this square today; you can see it etched above all in your faces, dear children and young people who have come from all over the world to celebrate the jubilee [of teenagers]. You come from so many places: from all of the dioceses of Italy, from Europe, from the United States to Latin America, from Africa to Asia, from the United Arab Emirates… with you here, the whole world is truly present!”

Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of Rome, on April 28:

“In this time, while the world is burning and few have the courage to proclaim the Gospel and translate it into a concrete and possible vision of the future, humanity appears like sheep without a shepherd. This image leaves the mouth of Jesus as he gazes upon the crowds following him.

“Around him are the apostles, reporting all they had done and taught: the words, gestures, and actions learned from the Master — the proclamation of the coming kingdom of God, the call to conversion, and the signs that gave flesh to the words — a caress, an outstretched hand, disarmed speech, without judgment, liberating, unafraid of contact with impurity. In performing this service, necessary to awaken faith and hope — that evil would not have the last word, that life is stronger than death — they did not even have time to eat.

“Jesus senses the weight of this — and that comforts us now. Jesus, the true shepherd of history in need of salvation, knows the burden placed on each of us in continuing his mission, especially as we find ourselves searching for his first shepherd on earth.

“This cannot be the time for balancing acts, tactics, caution, instincts to turn back, or, worse, revenge and power alliances, but rather we need a radical disposition to enter into God’s dream entrusted to our poor hands.

“Our duty must be to discern and order what has begun, in light of what our mission demands of us, moving toward a new heaven and a new earth, adorning the bride (the Church) for the Bridegroom. Otherwise, we risk clothing the bride according to worldly fashions, guided by ideological claims that tear the unity of Christ’s garment.”

Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, former prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches, on May 2:

“In this Eucharist we intend to unite ourselves as we can and know how, even in our aridities, distractions, continuous losses of focus on the only thing necessary, to the inexpressible groaning of the Spirit who cries out to God what is pleasing to him and what expresses in fullness the groaning of our nature, which we do not know how to formulate in words, also because we do not even allow ourselves, overwhelmed by haste, the time to know ourselves, to know him, to invoke him.

“St. Augustine invites us to enter within ourselves because it is there that we can find the authentic meaning that not only expresses what we are but cries out to the Father our need to be beloved children, repeating, ‘Abbá, Father’: ‘Noli foras ire, in te ipsum redi; in interiore homine habitat veritas.’ [‘Do not go outside, return to within yourself; truth dwells in the inner man’].”

Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, former pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, on May 3:

“St. Athanasius affirms that the risen Jesus Christ makes man’s life a continuous feast. And that is why the apostles — and Peter first among them — are not afraid of imprisonment, nor of threats, nor of being persecuted again. And in fact they boldly and frankly declare: ‘Of these things we are witnesses as also is the Holy Spirit whom God has sent to those who obey him.’

“It is clear that only the presence, with them, of the risen Lord and the action of the Holy Spirit can explain this fact. Their faith was based on such a strong and personal experience of Christ, dead and risen, that they were not afraid of anything or anyone.

“In the Gospel we heard that the risen Lord was waiting for his disciples at the seashore. The account says that when everything seemed finished, failed, the Lord made himself present, went to meet his own, who — filled with joy — were able to exclaim through the mouth of the disciple whom Jesus loved, ‘It is the Lord.’

“In this expression we grasp the enthusiasm of Easter faith, full of joy and amazement, which contrasts sharply with the bewilderment, discouragement, and sense of helplessness hitherto present in the disciples’ souls.

“It is only the presence of the risen Jesus that transforms everything: Darkness is overcome by light; useless work becomes fruitful and promising again; the sense of weariness and abandonment gives way to a new momentum and the certainty that he is with us.”

Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, former prefect of the supreme tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, on May 4:

“Love is the key word of this Gospel passage [John 21:1-19]. The first to recognize Jesus is ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved,’ John, who exclaims: ‘It is the Lord!’ and Peter immediately throws himself into the sea to join the Master. After they had shared the food, which will have kindled in the hearts of the apostles the memory of the Last Supper, the dialogue between Jesus and Peter begins, the threefold question of the Lord and Peter’s threefold response.

“The first two times, Jesus adopts the verb to love, a strong word, while Peter, mindful of the betrayal, responds with the less demanding expression ‘to care,’ and the third time Jesus stresses the expression to care, adjusting to the apostle’s weakness. Pope Benedict XVI noted in commenting on this dialogue: ‘Simon understands that Jesus is satisfied with his poor love, the only one of which he is capable. ... It is precisely this divine adjustment that gives hope to the disciple, who has recognized the suffering of infidelity. ... From that day on, Peter ‘followed’ the Master with a precise awareness of his own fragility; but this awareness did not discourage him. For he knew that he could count on the presence of the Risen One beside him ... and so he shows us the way as well’ (General audience, May 24, 2006).”

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, vice dean of the College of Cardinals, on April 30:

“The celebration of the Novendiales for the deceased pontiff constitutes on the part of different categories and affiliations the performance of a rite of Christian suffrage: Ideally, in this way, too, the successor of Peter summons us to confirm ourselves, precisely because we renew our profession of faith in the resurrection of the flesh, in the forgiveness of sins, including those of a man who became pontiff, and in renewing the awareness that the unity of each person’s history is in God’s hands.

“Today it is the cardinal fathers who are called to participate in the Novendiales, almost a central stage of this ecclesial journey, huddling together in prayer as a collegium and entrusting to the Lord the one whose first collaborators and advisers they have been, or at least have sought to be, in the Roman Curia as well as in dioceses throughout the world.”

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, on April 29:

“The message [of the parable of the sheep and goats] is clear: In the lives of all, believers and nonbelievers alike, there is a moment of discrimination; at a certain point some begin to share in the same joy of God, others begin to suffer the tremendous suffering of true loneliness, because, ousted from the kingdom, they remain desperately alone in their souls.

“The passage in the first reading is the conclusion of Peter’s encounter with pagans, Cornelius and his family (Acts 10); an episode that — in a globalized, secularized age as thirsty for truth and love as ours — through Peter’s attitude points the way to evangelization: the unreserved openness to the human, gratuitous interest in others, the sharing of experience and deepening to help every man and every woman give respect to life, to creaturely grace, and, when they see that it pleases God — St. Francis of Assisi would say (RegNB XVI, 43) — the proclamation of the Gospel.”

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, former prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, on May 1:

“Behind this love of work is a strong conviction of Pope Francis: the infinite value of every human being, an immense dignity that should never be lost, that under no circumstances can be ignored or forgotten.

“But every person is so very worthy, and must be taken so seriously, that it’s not just a matter of giving them things but promoting them. That is, that they can develop all the good in them, that they can earn their bread with the gifts God has given them, that they can develop their abilities. Thus each person is promoted in all his dignity. And this is where work becomes so important.

“But in this Mass, with the presence of the Vatican Curia, let us keep in mind that we in the Curia also work. Indeed, we are workers who keep a schedule, who carry out the tasks assigned to us, who must be responsible and strive and sacrifice in our commitments. The responsibility of work is also for us in the Curia a path of maturation and fulfillment as Christians.”

Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, on April 26:

“Evangelization was the guiding principle of [Pope Francis’] pontificate. With a clear missionary vision, he spread the joy of the Gospel, which was the title of his first apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium. It is a joy that fills the hearts of all those who entrust themselves to God with confidence and hope.

“The guiding thread of his mission was also the conviction that the Church is a home for all, a home with its doors always open. He often used the image of the Church as a ‘field hospital’ after a battle in which many were wounded; a Church determined to take care of the problems of people and the great anxieties that tear the contemporary world apart; a Church capable of bending down to every person, regardless of their beliefs or condition, and healing their wounds.”

Cap Arcona — once a luxurious transatlantic liner — became a place of execution in the spring of 1945 when it was bombed by British aircraft on May 3. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Piotr Wiśniowski

Dublin, Ireland, May 6, 2025 / 14:37 pm (CNA).

On May 3, 1945, one of the greatest and most silenced maritime tragedies of the 20th century unfolded in the Bay of Lübeck in Germany. 

Cap Arcona — once a luxurious transatlantic liner — became a place of execution in the spring of 1945 when it was bombed by British aircraft on May 3. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Father Piotr Wiśniowski

Dublin, Ireland, May 6, 2025 / 14:37 pm (CNA).

On May 3, 1945, one of the greatest and most silenced maritime tragedies of the 20th century unfolded in the Bay of Lübeck in Germany.