c. 1998 Religion News Service

(The Rev. Robert Franklin, theologian and author, is the president of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta.)

UNDATED _ Last week, I attended the White House prayer breakfast. President Clinton used the occasion to offer his most elaborate confession to date.

It was a scene of Shakespearean, even biblical, proportions. A young, flawed king presiding over a troubled palace. The nation’s priests were present to examine and counsel the president. The rulers of the nation were clamoring for the ouster of the king. The mood was one of controlled panic and a sense of foreboding prevailed. It was an extraordinary melodrama.

During the pre-breakfast reception, I urged members of the White House staff to convey to Clinton the need for bold action in an effort to reclaim moral authority and restore public trust. Ironically, a majority of the public seems to want the president to remain in office, even as a lame and wounded duck.

Clearly, there is moral and intellectual chaos in the country about what should happen next.

If we are to continue as a republic under this president’s leadership, then we should find a way to get beyond the legal bickering, partisan rage and pervasive apathy that now haunts us. We should set forth the terms under which this president can continue to serve the common good.

In his prayer breakfast remarks, Clinton said he plans to”continue on the road to repentance.”But he did not provide specifics about that journey.

In case he is still pondering the specifics, I would like to urge the president to undertake a two-week moral retreat, perhaps in an isolated monastery. I would urge him to spend the time in a directed retreat that incorporates prayer, fasting, counseling with pastors he trusts, studying the spiritual and political classics, and preparing an essay that chronicles his spiritual pilgrimage from bondage to freedom.

Already, the president has asked a team of pastors to provide him with counsel and support. According to news reports, all three are men. Although he has the right to select whomever he trusts, I think he is missing an important opportunity for tapping into the sensitivities and sensibilities of women. He would be well-served by adding a woman to his pastoral care team, someone who would more likely be able to detect blind spots in his character that might elude another man.

The president should undertake this journey as soon as possible, even if it means not participating actively in the fall election campaigns. It might even be refreshing for the nation to know that as Congress continues its deliberations about his fate, the president would be engaged in a life-renewing process. You can imagine the daily news updates:”Day five of the president’s retreat, Congress talks impeachment as the president studies the Ten Commandments and Plato’s Republic.” We have heard his confessions. It is now time to move from the rhetoric of repentance to rituals of renewal that will help the nation. Now is the time for him to do something bold and dramatic in an effort to restore public trust.

Moral leadership seeks to go beyond what the law requires. By undertaking a moral retreat, Clinton would engage in a form of”self censure”that could be more effective than political censure.

Even as I suggest this, my cynical side asks, is a retreat enough to achieve moral regeneration and to restore public trust for a person who has behaved so outrageously?

Frankly, I don’t know. But I can’t think of any course of self-initiated action that would be more potentially helpful for the nation, the president and his family.

Last week, Clinton quoted Psalm 51, written after King David lusted, committed rape and murdered in order to possess the lovely Bathsheba. The first 12 verses convey the author’s sorrow and brokenness. But the final seven verses refer to the public role the restored, forgiven king could play.

King David illustrates how even a flawed political figure could overcome tragedy to become an instrument of good.

Following his moral retreat, the president should attempt to return to the office he has besmirched, bearing the mantle of statesman, the visible proof of an inner, spiritual grace called repentance.

He would be expected to go the extra mile in seeking to achieve reconciliation between differing social groups by demonstrating the capacity to forgive opponents.

Approaching a new millennium, America and the world need a leader who can inspire hope, command trust, and mobilize courage to build a secure and prosperous global community. Currently, our president is not fit to fill this order.

But, if he dares to explore the depths of his own inner struggles and, thereafter, emerges with a renewed soul and leads the national conversation about public morality, he may succeed in restoring enough trust to lead us inward to confront our own demons. The president should be heartened to know he’s not alone on the sinner’s bench. We all need to confront our shortcomings.

In order to lead us forward, Mr. Clinton may first have to lead us inward. For it is only within the sanctity of this most private and spiritual space where we may discover, individually and collectively, a moral consciousness that inextricably ties who we are to what we do.

END FRANKLIN