CLARKSDALE - God bless Julie Mabus.

For certain, neither church nor circuit court is on her side.

I first met this smart, attractive woman when her former husband, Ray Mabus, was beating the bushes for votes back in the late '80s. Although visibly uncomfortable before the media, he did represent a fresh approach to state politics. Ray Mabus was a baby boomer, the first of that generation to capture the crown. Expectations were as high as summer corn.

After serving Mississippi as governor from 1988 until 1992, Mabus - a Democrat with national promise - was the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1994 to 1996. When his wife and young children were posted with him in that dangerous part of the world, I thought about the Bible's Ruth and her "entreat me not to leave thee" speech. It's one thing to be transferred to Rochester, quite another to hie thyself to Riyadh.

Julie Mabus was that most rare of all political commodities: a wife with an opinion who wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Not long married, the Mabus family brought babies back to the Governor's Mansion, making it feel more like a home for Mississippi's first family than a house for ambitious pols. And if there were rumors that the marriage was more alliance than affection, well, plenty of people have walked the aisle for worse reasons.

Come the inaugural ball, when Ray swept Julie into his arms for a celebratory dance, an audible "aaw" rode the air. It was just too cute: He was all stiff and ill-at-ease; she was prom-queen pretty. Everyone smiled as she whispered either encouragement or instructions in his ear. Turns out, they'd been taking dance lessons in preparation for the big night. More than one person at that party told me it felt like watching Charles and Diana.

The comparison between Mississippi's first family and Great Britain's royal couple wasn't far off point. Simple divorce didn't suit either couple. Both wallowed in mud-slinging until they'd generated headlines that must have given their children the willies. And in each case, divorce didn't bring domestic bliss, just a fresh team of lawyers.

Last week, a Hinds County judge ruled that an Episcopal priest had no fiduciary duty to inform Julie that a meeting between her, Ray and the preacher who'd married them was being secretly taped. Judge Bobby DeLaughter's 16-page decision said Julie Mabus didn't fall into the category of "vulnerable, trusting victims who are deceived and betrayed by the religious leaders that they are taught to trust and depend upon from early childhood."

And how would the court determine that she wasn't pitiful enough to merit an up-front deal from now former priest Jerry McBride?

"On the transcript she questioned why he (McBride) was there ... . She threatened him. She cursed him, and she treated him as an adversary," according to Jackson's Bob Malouf, who represents McBride.
Imagine that!

Come into your home to discover you've been ambushed into a meeting that you'd already said you didn't want. Then come to find out, it was a double trap; the priest knew the room was wired before you ever walked in. Just to re-enforce your faith, have the man of God's transcript become pivotal in the courtroom custody battle. After you lose your children, have your church claim that while the priest may have had a moral obligation, he wasn't legally bound to be honest from the get-go.

Huh?

Turns out, the court agrees with the church: Priests aren't like doctors, attorneys and other professionals who hold positions of trust. DeLaughter is in league with Vatican lawyers who refuse to apologize to victims of sexual molestation because it might set a bad legal precedent. Pay off the victim to keep quiet; just don't - for goodness' sake - admit to any wrongdoing. Might look bad.

Bet it feels worse.

Betrayal by friends or family is tough enough. If you can't count on the preacher not to wire-tap, what's the point of pew-warming?

Nobody said Julie Mabus was perfect. The couple divorced on grounds of adultery. Her taped admission of an affair was used as evidence that she didn't merit custody of their two daughters.

None of that, however, makes it appropriate for a priest to help one party in a divorce entrap another. And certainly, nothing explains the unwillingness of the church to just apologize and get on with the healing.

Julie Mabus will appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court. Meanwhile, with an eye to the late Princess Diana, I suggest Mississippi's former first lady be careful in cars. The tunnel of love has already proven deadly.