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  Unholy Ghosts

The Spokesman-Review [Spokane WA]
September 17, 2006

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/local/story.asp?ID=150062

The reaction to the news that the Rev. John Leary was a molester who had to leave town or be arrested can be summed up with the collision of two idioms: "Let sleeping dogs lie" and "The truth shall set you free."

The first wonders what is to be gained by reporting the heinous acts of 40 to 50 years ago. The second answers that query, but it glosses over the interim pain. Gloria Steinem understood this when she said, "The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off." Anger was unleashed on Sept. 8, when the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus announced that the former president of Gonzaga University was involved in the sexual abuse of boys. The Jesuits knew it. The university knew it. The Spokane Police Department knew it.

Some are angry with the co-conspirators. This is healthy, because it is rooted in the belief that the truth is meaningful. Some are angry with the decision to reveal the truth, because they say it is unproductive. In this version of reality, the perpetrators are the victims. The memories of them – and the memories of life in 1960s Spokane – are besmirched.

 
 

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