A Painful Beginning The Archdiocese Helps Break a Cycle of Shame Editorial Seattle Times May 28, 1988 Belated is the kindest description possible for the Seattle Archdiocese's reluctant decision to go public with information about a parish priest with a 30-year history of child molesting. Love and compassion are one thing, but concern for one tragic individual must not be at the expense of those who are victimized, and the welfare of the larger church community. A pastoral letter has been distributed that speaks candidly of the troubled priest's deviancy, and the need to care for the victimizers and the abused. Good advice. Everyone must be mindful of the homely admonition that churches are not country clubs for saints, but hospitals for sinners. The church is in the business of forgiving, and teaching others to do likewise. But what may rankle the faithful is the patronizing observation in that letter that the archdiocese is coming forward to "break the cycle of silence" that perpetuates abuse. Who indeed had draped a cloak of secrecy over the priest's struggle with pedophilia? This is no voluntary confession to helping the healing. Were it not for the comments of a woman on a television news program, this tragedy would not be known. For the people in the South King County parish to which the priest had been assigned, the anger and confusion must be overwhelming. At the risk of preaching, may we suggest the missing element is faith. For the parishioners, surely their faith in the church must be mended. For the church hierarchy, more faith in the followers is called for. They must be trusted to show compassion, and provide the loving, supportive community their faith gives them the strength to provide. The pastoral letter talks about creating a new atmosphere based on education and dialogue to help put the problems of abuse and exploitation in the distant past. Failure to provide the education and one half ofthe dialogue was not the problem of the faithful on the other side of the pulpit.

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