Resignation accepted from priest

By Janet I. Tu
Seattle Times staff reporter

The Rev. Lawrence Minder says he was abuse victim.

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The Rev. Lawrence Minder will no longer be pastor at Bothell's St. Brendan Roman Catholic Church.

Seattle Archbishop Alexander Brunett sent a letter last night to St. Brendan parishioners, telling them he has accepted Minder's resignation. The archbishop is appointing someone to coordinate parish business until a permanent pastor is named.

Minder submitted his resignation in late August after stunning his parishioners when he announced he had been sexually abused by a priest decades ago. He said he was resigning rather than undergo a psychological assessment, the results of which would have been available to the archbishop.

Brunett had asked for the assessment over concerns about Minder's alcohol use.

The archdiocese and Minder reached an agreement in September under which the priest, rather than resign, would take a paid leave of absence to undergo evaluation in Minnesota. The archbishop did not accept Minder's resignation at that time because he believed Minder was under considerable pressure and he hoped that the priest would return to his parish, said Greg Magnoni, Seattle Archdiocese spokesman.

Brunett has since decided to accept the resignation after receiving a request from Minder late last month for additional time for ongoing treatment, said Magnoni, who believes Minder wanted to be away through April.

That would be too long to leave a parish without a permanently assigned priest, Magnoni said. "We've got priests who have responsibilities elsewhere who are filling in at the parish." The decision would also "allow the parish to move forward," Magnoni said.

It was not clear yesterday whether Minder still wanted to resign. Brunett has not been in contact with him recently, although others in the archdiocese have, Magnoni said.

Minder, who hosted a homeless encampment on church grounds last summer, could not be reached yesterday.

Officials in the Yakima Diocese have confirmed that Minder came to them earlier with allegations against a priest who once worked there.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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