Reporting Suspects

I had a brief meeting with a young police officer once, which made a great impression on me. A crime had been committed at the Church. He asked me, Do you know who did it? I said, I think I do. He said, Who? I said I couldn't reveal it. He said, You are protecting a suspect -- that puts you under suspicion. OBSERVATION: That guided me in two ways in the years that followed. If there has been an offence, a minister has no business withholding who did it -- in fact, should report it. Secondly, the minister himself, herself, will almost certainly be accused of offences, sooner or later, true or not. In that case, the minister has no business keeping the accusations to himself. Likewise, they should all be reported. In fact, it is liberating to work that way.