"The law is the latest attempt by Democrat Stacey Travers to punish priests who refuse to violate the Seal of Confession. A priest who does so incurs an automatic excommunication. Travers proposed a similar law in 2023 that ultimately died."
You have to give these nutty Democrats credit: they never give up and their hate for the Catholic Church is worn on their shirtsleeves for all to see, and the thing is, they don't care, all they want to do is to destroy, destroy, and destroy whatever is left of the priesthood!
You will see C.J. Doyle's response to this lunacy...
From lifesitenews.com and written by Matt Lamb Tue Jan 6, 2026 - 2:40 pm EST: Arizona bill could jail, fine priests $150k for refusing to violate Seal of Confession - LifeSite
"(LifeSiteNews) — A new bill in Arizona would threaten Catholic priests with massive fines and up to two years in prison if they refuse to break the sacred Seal of Confession.
The law is the latest attempt by Democrat Stacey Travers to punish priests who refuse to violate the Seal of Confession. A priest who does so incurs an automatic excommunication. Travers proposed a similar law in 2023 that ultimately died.
House Bill 2039 orders priests to report any time they learn of “ongoing abuse” or even the “threat” of abuse in the confessional. Those who fail to follow the law can be found guilty of a class 6 felony, which can carry fines up to $150,000 and two years in prison. However, that is just for a first offense. Priests who continued to violate the law, as required by Canon Law and the Catholic Church, could face years in prison.
The law also requires priests to predict what may happen in the future. While the law appears to offer a “clergy-penitent privilege,” this does not apply if “the member of the clergy, a Christian Science practitioner or a priest determines that the abuse or neglect is still occurring or will occur in the future.”
LifeSiteNews called Rep. Travers’ office on Monday and also emailed her asking about the proposed law. LifeSiteNews asked if a religious freedom expert reviewed the proposal, particularly in light of a similar law in Washington that has since been revoked following a federal ruling. Travers did not respond to this question or others about efforts she made to reach out to Catholic leaders.
LifeSiteNews also asked Travers about other potential legal difficulties with the bill, considering the Supreme Court’s recent rulings in favor of religious freedom, such as a June 2025 decision that protected the rights of parents to opt out of sexualized school curricula.
In July, a federal judge blocked a similar law in Washington, as previously reported by LifeSiteNews. The law came under scrutiny from Catholic bishops, Orthodox Catholics, and the Department of Justice.
“There is no question that SB 5375 burdens Plaintiffs’ free exercise of religion,” Judge David Estudillo concluded. “In situations where Plaintiffs hear confessions related to child abuse or neglect, SB 5375 places them in the position of either complying with the requirements of their faith or violating the law,” the federal judge wrote.
READ: Judge blocks Washington law that forces priests to break Seal of Confession
The state subsequently agreed in October to revoke the law in order to end the lawsuit.
LifeSiteNews contacted the Arizona Catholic Conference, which represents Roman Catholics and Byzantine Catholics, to ask for any plans to oppose the law or to discuss the issue with Travers. Executive Director Ron Johnson was out of the office Monday when contacted via email. A subsequent email to Johnson and a legislative assistant was not answered Tuesday morning.
LifeSiteNews called executive legislative assistant Carolina Escarcega on Tuesday afternoon but she also did not answer the phone.
‘Would not pass constitutional muster’
A Catholic leader criticized the law and said it is headed for a legal demise if passed. He also pointed out Travers has a leftist voting record, which explains her animosity toward Catholics.
Catholic Action League Executive Director CJ Doyle told LifeSiteNews:
The inevitability of a legal challenge should the Arizona legislation become law, the recent decision by the U.S. District Court in the State of Washington, and the likelihood of intervention by the U.S. Department of Justice, all supported by two centuries of common law and American jurisprudence, suggest that such a statute would not pass constitutional muster.
“The sanctity of the Seal of the Confessional – known in civil law as the priest-penitent privilege – has been upheld in American law since People v. Philips in 1813,” Doyle told LifeSiteNews in his emailed comments. The New York court case confirmed Catholic priests cannot be forced to testify about what they hear in the confessional.
Doyle said the law looks like “political posturing.”
He said Travers’ motives are clear, given that she has been endorsed by pro-abortion and pro-LGBT groups.
Doyle noted:
She has co-sponsored legislation to repeal the state’s former 15 week abortion ban; to eliminate abortion reporting requirements; to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment; to erase conscience protections for health care professionals in the provision of contraceptives; to prohibit conversion therapy; to legalize assisted suicide; and to establish same sex marriage as a right under the Arizona Constitution.
“For Travers, and other left-wing Democrats, the Catholic Church is an ideological adversary which can be vilified and discredited by portraying it as indifferent to sexual abuse,” he said. “Their motives are cynical, malicious and punitive.”
The Catholic Action League executive director called on his fellow Catholics to resist the proposal.
“Catholics must make clear that any attempt to violate the seal will be regarded as an attempt to criminalize Catholicism, which will be resisted by all appropriate means,” Doyle told LifeSiteNews.
He concluded by citing well-respected legal scholar Jonathan Turley, a Catholic, who criticized Washington for its law.
Turley, a George Washington University law professor, said such a law would violate the rights of the accused to be warned that their statements can be used against them, commonly called “Miranda rights.”
“Putting aside the unconstitutionality, it is a law ripe for abuse,” Turley wrote on his commentary website.
“The state [of Washington] would be using the church as an agent to compel confessions on the threat of damnation and then turn over the evidence to the police,” Turley said. “Worse yet, if the priest does not give a type of ministerial Miranda, the confessant may not realize the danger.”
Turley noted: “[I]t is rather hard for a priest to say that a person must confess their sin while reminding them of the right to remain silent.”'
End of very revealing article...
Pray for strength and honor!
Viva Cristo Rey! Bl. Fr. Miguel Pro, Fr. Emil Kapaun and Fr. Vincent Capodanno, pray for us...
St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle...
St. Joseph pray for us!!
Gene DeLalla
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