The Delaware General Assembly is considering a bill that would require Roman Catholic priests to break the seal of confession to report child abuse and neglect, prompting condemnation from the Diocese of Wilmington.

House Bill 74, the sponsors of which include state Senate President Pro Tempore David P. Sokola, could be heard before the House Judiciary Committee within weeks, according to OSV News.

The Diocese of Wilmington condemned the proposed law, noting that priests are bound by the sacrament of reconciliation from breaking the seal of confession, according to the outlet. Catholic canon law mandates that a priest who violates the seal of confession is automatically excommunicated.

"The sacrament of confession and its seal of confession is a fundamental aspect of the church’s sacramental theology and practice. It is non-negotiable," the diocese said in a statement Monday.

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"No Catholic priest or bishop would ever break the seal of confession under any circumstances. To do so would incur an automatic excommunication that could only be pardoned by the pope himself," the diocese continued. "It would be a clear violation of the First Amendment for the government to interfere in this most sacred and ancient practice of our faith."

"While we support initiatives to make Delaware a safer place for minors and vulnerable adults, HB 74 would not contribute to such efforts in any meaningful way," the diocese added.

The diocese, which noted its internal policies already require clergy to report suspected cases of child abuse to civil authorities, further argued that HB 74 would not only violate the religious right of clergy-penitent privilege, but could also lead to unintended consequences.

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In addition to violating a core tenet of the Catholic faith, the diocese said the legal obligation established by such a law would be impractical, given that most confessions are anonymous.

"The Diocese of Wilmington considers the protection of the vulnerable to be one of the most important aims of public policy," the diocese added. "However, this legislation would not advance that vital objective."

The Delaware bill mirrors similar bills introduced in Utah and Vermont that have also drawn criticism from Catholic leaders. Washington and Kansas are also in the process of implementing measures that would require clergy to be listed as mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect.

Bishop Thomas Daly of the Diocese of Spokane, Washington, told the Washington Examiner last week that priests and bishops in the state would choose imprisonment over complying with a law that would force them to break the seal of confession.

"Priests and bishops will go to jail rather than break the seal of confession," Daly told the outlet. "I'm confident that the priests in [the Diocese of Spokane] and my brother bishops would do that, so sacred is that bond."

Montana GOP Sen. Steve Daines, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is dismissing future political ambitions of retired U.S. Army Colonel Doug Mastriano, concluding that he is likely to not win a race after failing to clinch the post as governor of Pennsylvania in 2022.

"We need somebody who can win a primary and a general election. His last race demonstrated he can’t win a general," Daines said of Mastriano, according to one reporter.

The comments from Daines come after Mastriano, who lost his bid for governor of Pennsylvania to Democrat Josh Shapiro in the November 2022 midterm elections, told Politico he is "praying" about a potential Senate run in 2024.

"We’ve seen people in the past, other Republican gubernatorial candidates, they rise and they disappear when they lose. Why? You have people that love you and support you," Mastriano told the outlet.

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Should he make a run for the Senate, Mastriano, as well as other Republican hopefuls who are sure to enter the race, would likely be running to take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, who is widely popular among voters in the state but has yet to announce whether he will seek a fourth term in office.

"I think he’s a huge disappointment. He’s nothing like his dad," Mastriano told Politico of Casey. "His dad was more pro-life than most Republicans."

In the November 2022 midterm election to become Pennsylvania's next governor, Mastriano lost to Shapiro by nearly 800,000 votes.

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Following his loss, several Republicans — both in the state and nationally — accused Mastriano of being too extreme on the campaign trail on issues like abortion and the 2020 election, and for being out of touch with what Keystone State voters wanted.

As for other Republicans who may enter the race, former Senate candidate Dave McCormick, who lost the race for the GOP nomination for Senate to Dr. Mehmet Oz in the 2022 cycle by less than 1,000 votes, is taking steps that hint at a possible run.

McCormick, a Gulf War combat veteran and Treasury Department official in former President George W. Bush’s administration, has reportedly met with Republican leaders in the state about the possibility of another Senate run in 2024, and has earned the support of many of those in the state.

With a new book titled "Superpower in Peril: A Battle Plan to Renew America," which publishes this month, a book tour is in the works that would likely take McCormick across Pennsylvania and beyond.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this article.