To the editor:
In their most recent effort to expose deceit and hypocrisy among members of the Mormon Church, the Tanners have inadvertently uncovered and publicized one of the things that makes me most grateful to be a member of it - the alertness, kindness and compassion of its leaders.Bishop Pace was hardly on a "witch-hunt" as he interviewed the survivors of ritual abuse. His memo focused on the existence of the problem, the need for protecting our children, getting help for the victims and the long history of secret evil in the world.
Over the last decade, the church has become ever-increasingly open about the fact that Mormons, too, suffer from society's saddest problems.
Many articulate and sensitive articles and pamphlets have been published regarding how to deal with drugs, alcohol, infidelity, divorce, suicide in the family, mental illness and child abuse.
They have been so well-written that they are pinned to therapists' bulletin boards across the valley - regardless of the religious affiliations of the counselors.
As the wife of a therapist, there is no question in my mind about the existence of ritual abuse of Utah women - some men, too. My husband often shares their tragic stories with me, anonymously of course.
People who live double lives have been part of history for centuries. An incest survivor who works with me justifiably calls them "societal."
Years ago, our own beautiful children were raped, sodomized, terrorized and tortured by a man living this kind of dual existence. He was their step-grandfather and a respected school administrator.
Not a member of the LDS Church but an agnostic with a background in another faith, he deceived us and all who knew him with his front of education, prominence and community stature.
Underneath all of this, he was a ritualistic pervert whose home could not have appeared more safe. As the memories have come back and we have had to deal with shattered lives, we have been grateful for the openness, kindness and willingness to acknowledge reality that we have found both in and out of the church.
As human beings struggling in a difficult world, we need to stop judging, call things what they are and reach out in sympathy to the countless victims of these perpetrators.
Bishop Pace, in uncovering a problem he made no attempt to deny, gives hundreds of them hope. His acknowledgements should be a `call to arms' for all of us, members and non-members alike, as we support and comfort them.
Name withheld