Rev. KEVIN FLYNN

is an Anglican priest and director of the Anglican studies program at Saint Paul University.

Iassume that the obvious in the Lance Armstrong story is that we all desire integrity. When it is lacking, we feel cheated or deceived.

Most of us have no direct connection with Lance Armstrong, but feel nevertheless that there has been a kind of rupture in the relationship that needs to be set right.

It is easy to be cynical about Armstrong’s motives in “confessing” before Oprah and seeking her “absolution.” After all, a great deal of money rides on his sponsorships and endorsements. Small wonder he would wish to mitigate the financial disaster the discovery of his cheating threatens.

Even so, we may see in his confession a very basic human need.

People in 12 Step programs know how crucial it is to make a “searching and fearless moral inventory” and seek restitution and forgiveness whenever possible.

Therapists know that a breakthrough to healing will only take place after sufficient trust has been established for clients to face the painful facts of the past and finally disclose them. Literature abounds with examples of confession.

At its best, the Christian tradition acknowledges the reality of both individual and corporate sin. At its best, the tradition’s response to those realities is neither finger-wagging moralism nor benign indifference.

The Risen Christ breathes the Holy Spirit into his followers, releasing into the world the possibility of forgiveness: “Peace be with you.” This is not the same as psychotherapy, valuable though that can be. The Church’s rite of confession is a sacramental encounter with Christ.

Armstrong’s “confession” before Oprah was not such an encounter. What we can learn from his story, however, is the abiding human need to bring destructive secrets into the open, to find reconciliation with those who have been injured, and to begin anew.