It's hard to understand the depth of this hurt without knowing a little bit about the town of San Luis, population 739. It is a desperately poor place. About 30 percent of people live below the poverty line. According to the 2000 Census, the per capita income in San Luis was $8,887 per person, with a median income of about $20,875. To put that in some perspective, Salt Lake City's median income was $50,420, according to 2004 Census figures. Per capita income was about $20,190.

Although many people in the San Luis Valley lack in personal wealth, they are sustained by their faith. The Rev. Valdez, as quoted by The Pueblo (Colo.) Chieftain, told parishioners, "You have worked hard and this whole community has worked hard to build that shrine as an expression of our faith and an expression of our love of God."

What is sad, too, is that the actions of these missionaries are not characteristic of the vast majority of missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most conduct themselves in a manner that honors their church and their prophet.

Representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have met with The Rev. Valdez and community members. They hand-delivered a written apology from one of the missionaries. Robert Fotheringham, who is president of the Colorado Springs Mission and oversees missionaries in four states, told The Pueblo Chieftain, "We're just mortified about this. This is not what we're about." The offenders face church discipline.

I know Fotheringham from his days running a public relations firm in Salt Lake City. I know him as a straight shooter. I hope the people of the Sangre de Cristo Parish and the community can take him at his word.

And I hope that the people of these two faiths can work this out. The Mormon Church has endured religious persecution and discrimination throughout its history. Mitt Romney's recent run for president gave the nation a glimpse of that.

But one would think, with that sort of history as a guide, that representatives of that faith would go to extraordinary lengths to respect altars and shrines others consider sacred.

Again, no one should paint with a broad brush here. Somehow, there must be a reconciliation.

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Marjorie Cortez, who is neither Mormon nor Catholic but a middle-of-the-road United Methodist, is a Deseret Morning News editorial writer. E-mail her at marjorie@desnews.com.