The Nation: No Scarlet Letters

Though the soap opera The Secret Storm usually generates only a mild zephyr at the mailboxes of CBS, more and more of the program's 12 million weekly viewers have been writing in with each installment. They have been aroused by the still platonic romance between a Roman Catholic priest and an attractive widow. Last fall Laurie Stevens, a program regular, met a newcomer, Father Mark Reddin. Ever since, the producers and writers have nursed the romance along, consulting with the Archdiocese of New York. The tantalizing question: Will the curly-haired, cleft-chinned cleric abandon his first love, the church, and wed the deserving brunette? Surprisingly, the letters indicate that most viewers want a quickie marriage. "The more we get into the story and the characters," says Producer Joe Manetta, "the more they're writing, 'Please God, get them married. They're so right for each other.' " The couple probably will marry, but the network is hardly likely to rush the wedding. The Secret Storm, after all, is sustained by forbidden loves. And, as Chief Writer Gillian Houghton admits in a wry commentary on present-day America, "it's difficult to find one these days."