The state Attorney General’s Office can enforce subpoenas to determine whether charitable funds were used to cover up sexual abuse by clergy members, a Washington appeals court ruled Monday.
In May 2024, then-Attorney General Bob Ferguson launched an investigation into the Seattle Archdiocese, the Diocese of Spokane and the Diocese of Yakima, to find out “whether recent reforms publicized by the Church are being implemented and whether they are effective,” according to the appellate court ruling.
However, the Seattle Archdiocese refused to fully comply with subpoenas because of the broadness of the scope.
A King County Superior Court judge ruled in 2024 that the attorney general couldn’t force the church to hand over documents. Monday’s decision overturned that ruling.
In the new court opinion, a panel of three judges found the Archdiocese can only seek a religious exemption from specific laws when it’s truly necessary to protect religious freedom.
“This means the AGO’s subpoena is supported by statutory authorization, and we therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings,” the ruling reads.
Archbishop Paul D. Etienne, who oversees the Archdiocese of Seattle, said in a statement Tuesday that the church “shares the same goals” as the attorney general’s office.
“As a way to continue healing for our Church and for victim survivors, we want to give a transparent accounting of the history without jeopardizing the privacy of victim survivors,” Etienne said.
The archbishop wrote that the original subpoena asked for every receipt from Washington parishes and schools since Jan. 1, 1940 — which would produce “irrelevant documents and waste millions of dollars to us and taxpayers.”
Etienne added: “We remain, as we have from the beginning, open to working with the Attorney General’s team to find a more balanced set of records to share — along with a guarantee for the privacy of victim survivors as we do not want the state’s investigation to re-traumatize them in any way.”
The appellate court found that the scope of the documents would need to be narrowed by a trial court, in such a way that it doesn’t infringe on the church’s state and federal rights to freedom of religion.
A spokesperson, Helen McClenahan, also noted the Archdiocese of Seattle has been working to address past abuses for decades now and has a website dedicated to the topic: Protect And Heal — Archdiocese of Seattle.
In a statement on Monday’s decision, now-Gov. Ferguson called for the church to “do the right thing and engage in a public accounting of how the church handles allegations of child sex abuse.”
“This ruling is an important win for transparency,” said Ferguson, who is Catholic. “I am asking church leaders to reflect and pray about this unanimous court decision and stop fighting this investigation.”
The ruling is the latest chapter in the ongoing legal battle between Ferguson and the Archdiocese. U.S. District Judge David Estudillo, a federal judge in Tacoma, ruled the state could not enforce a law requiring clergy members to report sexual abuse when it’s disclosed in the sacrament of confession.
“Any priest who directly violates the sacramental seal,” Estudillo noted, “is subject to automatic excommunication and risks eternal damnation.”