BOTHELL (WA)
Seattle Times
By Janet I. Tu
Seattle Times staff reporter
The Rev. Lawrence Minder, who stunned his parishioners at Bothell's St. Brendan Church last year when he told them he was a victim of the Roman Catholic Church's sex-abuse scandal, is resigning from the priesthood.
Saying he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his abuse, Minder stated yesterday that counselors at an Arizona treatment facility told him recently he needed to separate from the priesthood to work through the issues underlying the disorder.
"It's been an internal conflict for the last three years to, in a sense, keep putting a best face on a situation that has no best face," he said.
On one hand, he felt a responsibility as pastor to "protect the fragile faith of the people" and to lead the parish through the larger sex-abuse scandal. At the same time, he was angry at "the scope (of the scandal) and lack of responsible leadership" of the bishops over the years.
Posted by kshaw at March 25, 2005 08:07 AM