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 ...

NCR interviews James O'Toole, whose new book, For I Have Sinned, details the growth and eventual decline of confession in the ...

The Washington Capitol is pictured in Olympia April 11, 2020. Washington state's Catholic bishops asked the federal court to block a new state law they say forces priests to choose between breaking ...

The Catholic Church is pushing back against a new law that was rushed through the legislature by Democrats over concerns of clergy, requiring priests to break the confidentiality of confession.

The Catholic Church and federal government reacted vehemently to new legislation in Washington state that requires priests to report child abuse or neglect to law enforcement after learning about the ...

The Washington Capitol is pictured in Olympia April 11, 2020. Washington state's Catholic bishops filed a lawsuit May 29, 2025, over a new law that requires clergy to report child abuse or neglect but ...

The Catholic Church has vowed to excommunicate any priest who follows a new Washington state law requiring clergy to report information about child abuse to law enforcement — even if given in the ...

Priests who fail to report abuse learned in confession could face up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court, claims the state’s law violates the First and ...

Eds: This story was supplied by The Conversation for AP customers. The Associated Press does not guarantee the content. Timothy Gabrielli, University of Dayton (THE CONVERSATION) The 1953 Alfred ...

Washington State is backing off its controversial push to force Catholic priests into violating the seal of confession in order to comply with a law requiring them to report suspected child abuse.