April 18, 2002

Letters to the Editor
New York Times
229 West 43rd Street, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10036

Dear Sir or Madam,

Like many people, I am very saddened by the sudden avalanche of sexual abuses commited by some Catholic priests.

At the same time, I am surprised and disappointed that too few have come to the defense of the many dedicated and irreproachable men of the church. They have been and continue to be foster fathers for many children coming from broken families.

I speak from experience. I myself grew up with my mother and three sisters in a little village in Burgundy, France, abandoned by my father at the age of seven. The only male presence in my life at that time was Abbe Poulot, the local parish priest who spread himself very thin. He served us as well as three other villages. He was quite a character. He thought nothing of scolding us during his Sunday sermon if he considered our offerings too meager. Pointing to his new pair of shoes, he'd say, "Look at these twenty-franc shoes. The pair I wanted cost forty-five, but you were so stingy that I could not afford them. Brothers and sisters, there is a moral to the story. In a few weeks, winter will be here, snow and rain, those cheap shoes will get wet and I will catch pneumonia and no one will be here to bring you the word of God. Go in Peace."

There was never a hint of scandal about him. (Well, maybe there were rumors about why it was that the spinster housekeeper should buy him a new Renault.) But as far as the children were concerned, he was a blessing. He was strict but prepared us well to meet the challenges of faith in the modern world. And we had fun. After Vespers, he would show Charlie Chaplin movies in the side chapel and then we'd play ruthless games of Monopoly. (I think I learned my business sense from them!)

Two years ago, many decades after I left the village, I located him in an old priests' home and sent him $1,000.00 as a gift in gratitude. I didn't hear anything so I called the home a month later. The person in charge told me, "Yes, he received a letter from America and we haven't heard from him ever since."
Wherever he is, I hope he's having a little bit of heaven on earth. He deserves it.

Jean-Claude Baker