Mourners Seek Meaning In Priest's AIDS Death; 7 Bishops, 100 Priests Attend Rites in D.C.

The death of the first Roman Catholic priest in the nation's capital known to have died of complications from AIDS was marked yesterday by solemn rites that featured seven bishops, more than a hundred of his fellow priests and the eternal question of why good men die young.

"Our faith leads us to say `Thy will be done,' " said Washington Auxiliary Bishop Thomas W. Lyon at the funeral for the Rev. Michael Peterson, 44, who died Thursday. Yet, the bishop continued, "there are so many things we do not understand, so many times when we question why."

Peterson, who was a priest…