CV NEWS FEED // The Montana State Senate is considering a bill that would force Catholic priests to break the seal of Confession.
Democratic State Sen. Mary Dunwell is the sponsor of SB 139, which would eliminate the clauses in the Montana Constitution that exempt Catholic clergy from mandatory reporting of child abuse or neglect when disclosed in the Sacrament of Confession.
One of the clauses that would be eliminated reads: “A member of the clergy or a priest is not required to make a report under this section if: (i) the knowledge or suspicion of the abuse or neglect came from a statement or confession made to the member of the clergy or the priest in that person’s capacity as a member of the clergy or as a priest.”
Republican Montana Rep. Lukas Schubert, a Catholic and the youngest state representative in the nation, is urging residents to speak out in opposition of the bill. Schubert assumed office as a state senator on Jan. 6, 2025.
URGENT:
— Rep. Lukas Schubert (@LukasSchubertMT) January 19, 2025
Anti-Catholic bill (SB139) is going through the MT State Senate that would force priests to break the confessional seal and dissuade people from seeking forgiveness from God.
If you live in Montana please reach out to oppose this bill, contact info below #mtpol pic.twitter.com/RwrNIQXkov
In a Jan. 21 phone interview with CatholicVote regarding the legislation, Schubert said, “I think that this is, frankly, an anti-Catholic, anti-Christian bill.”
He explained that God instituted the Sacrament of Confession, and that the Church’s Code of Canon Law prohibits priests from ever disclosing information they learn during the sacrament. If they do break the seal of Confession, they are excommunicated.
“So with that, we have to acknowledge that the laws of God are infinitely above the laws of man,” Schubert said, adding that it is unjust for a government to reverse that order.
In a Jan. 20 reply to Schubert’s X post, CatholicVote Vice President Joshua Mercer denounced the bill as “outrageous.”
“Would lawmakers ever go after lawyer-client privilege?” Mercer posited. “And how would the media react if a bill forced reporters to name their sources?”
Legislators may be considering it this week or in the following week, according to Schubert. He added that while politics can be unpredictable, he does not anticipate that the bill will succeed.
This is not the first time Montana’s legislature has engaged with a bill that would force priests to violate the seal of Confession. According to the Associated Press, a similar bill removing this exemption was brought up in 2021, but it never received a hearing.
Nor is it the first time a state legislature has considered passing laws that would interfere with the seal of Confession.
Washington, Utah, and Delaware are among the states that have previously reviewed such bills. In Washington, the controversial version of the bill failed and was later reintroduced with an exemption to protect the seal of Confession. Utah’s bill allows for exceptions as well. Delaware’s related bill did not pass.