DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have been together for six years. Until about 18 months ago, my mother-in-law and I got along swimmingly. Unfortunately, that relationship has become troubled. The cause is her deep involvement with her church, indoctrinating our toddler with her religious beliefs and, finally, (ironically) her deep physical attraction to her priest. She believes this last topic is acceptable to confide to me. Needless to say, it has made me very uncomfortable, and I have begun avoiding her.

This is difficult because she and my father-in-law live in the downstairs apartment of our home. My husband, thankfully, understands my position. We both have spoken to his mother several times, to no avail. I’ve reached the end of my rope, and I’m asking for any advice you may have as to how to handle this awkward situation. — ROUGH WATERS IN PENNSYLVANIA

DEAR ROUGH WATERS: Because you can’t change your mother-in-law, the most direct way to handle this would be to tell her that her confidences have made you uncomfortable, and you don’t want to hear another word about her physical attraction to the cleric. I assume your father-in-law is aware of all this? If not, she should inform HIM.

I will further assume that because your in-laws are family, you don’t plan to ask them to move. Putting an end to her attempts to indoctrinate your toddler is as easy as hiring a babysitter.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.