A new Arizona bill would make priests face felony charges if they refuse to report child abuse learned in confession.
Newsroom (08/01/2026 Gaudium Press ) A newly proposed Arizona law, House Bill 2039, could force priests to choose between their faith and the state. The measure, introduced in December 2025 by state Rep. Anastasia Travers, would make it a felony for clergy to keep what they hear in the confessional secret if it concerns child abuse that is ongoing or could continue.
The bill, awaiting House action since its prefiling on Dec. 4, would amend Arizona’s child abuse reporting statutes to remove the traditional protection afforded to penitential communications. It states that clergy — including priests and Christian Science practitioners — must report abuse if they have “reasonable suspicion to believe that the abuse is ongoing, will continue, or may be a threat to other minors.”
Failure to do so could bring class 6 felony charges, which carry penalties of up to two years in prison and fines that may reach $150,000.
Travers has not yet publicly explained her motivation for the legislation. She previously filed a similar bill in 2023, which never reached a floor vote. Requests for comment from her office have so far gone unanswered.
A National Pattern of Legislative Tension
The Arizona proposal mirrors efforts across several states where lawmakers have sought to include priests in mandatory reporting laws, even when doing so would violate the seal of confession — a sacred tenet of the Catholic Church.
In Washington state, a similar law sparked national debate before a federal court blocked it in July 2025 on First Amendment grounds. The court’s decision was celebrated by religious groups, including U.S. bishops, Orthodox leaders, and even some secular civil liberty advocates, who argued the bill infringed on the free exercise of religion. The state formally dropped the effort three months later.
Comparable proposals have surfaced in Delaware, Vermont, Wisconsin, Montana, and even abroad in Hungary. None have yet survived legislative or judicial challenges. California lawmakers in 2019 abandoned a similar bill after strong opposition from Catholic and interfaith groups.
Priests Caught Between Law and Faith
For the Catholic Church, the issue is not simply legal — it is spiritual and absolute. Church canon law declares that “it is absolutely forbidden for a confessor to betray in any way a penitent in words or in any manner and for any reason.” Breaking that seal, even to prevent a crime, would lead to automatic excommunication.
Throughout history, priests have died rather than reveal what they heard in confession. The Church considers this secrecy essential to the integrity of the sacrament — a sacred trust between penitent, priest, and God.
Yet HB 2039 challenges that centuries-old principle by imposing state penalties. It explicitly alters Arizona’s statute to remove protection for any “confidential or penitential communication” if the clergy member determines that the abuse disclosed is “still occurring or will occur in the future.”
The Broader Stakes
Supporters of such measures often argue that no religious privilege should stand in the way of protecting children from harm. Opponents argue that piercing the confessional seal erodes not only religious liberty but also the very conditions that allow people to come forward, repent, and seek help.
As Arizona lawmakers prepare to consider HB 2039, the debate again converges on a constitutional fault line — between the free exercise of religion and the state’s duty to protect the vulnerable. For priests, the question remains as grave as it is ancient: whether to obey the law of the land or the law of God.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
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