I began attending mass regularly in late 2000 at St. Joseph’s on Capitol Hill. The pastor was Fr. Paul Lavin. I didn’t know at the time, but in the prior decade, a man had accused Fr. Lavin of molesting him as a boy. A couple of years later, after I had moved to the other side of the Hill and mostly went to another parish, Fr. Lavin was suspended after a second accusation of sexual abuse came out.

You’ll find Fr. Lavin’s name on the long list the Archdiocese of Washington just published of local clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse.