Raymond Hunthausen
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Raymond Gerhardt Hunthausen (born August 21, 1921) was the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Seattle, serving from February 25, 1975 to August 21, 1991.
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[edit] Life and career
Hunthausen was born in Anaconda, Montana. He graduated from Carroll College in Helena, Montana and from St. Edward Seminary in Kenmore, Washington. On June 1, 1946 he was ordained a priest of the Roman Catholic Church in Helena.
In 1957 Monsignor Hunthausen became president of Carroll College. He had been chemistry professor there, serving at the same time first as dean of men and then as both the football and basketball coach.
He was later appointed bishop of the diocese of Helena by Pope John XXIII and ordained as such on August 30, 1962. He was the newest and youngest American bishop at the start of the Second Vatican Council a few months later.
His tenure as bishop of Helena was marked by increased lay involvement in church matters, the establishment of a mission in Guatemala, the closure of several Catholic elementary and high schools, and the strengthening of religious education programs which function in every diocesan parish.
He was appointed Archbishop of Seattle, Washington by Pope Paul VI and retired effective August 21, 1991 (his 70th birthday), after years of controversies that included an investigation coordinated by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.
[edit] Work as Archbishop
Archbishop Hunthausen was considered a champion of the poor and overlooked and was known for his positions on peace and justice. As the archbishop of the Seattle Archdiocese his leadership was marked by strong pastoral care to all people. He embraced the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, particularly in his dedication to ecumenism and multicultural issues.
In 1982, Hunthausen withheld half of his income tax to protest the stockpiling of nuclear weapons by the United States, as typified by the naval base on Puget Sound for Trident missile-equipped submarines. This action prompted the Internal Revenue Service to garnish his wages. About the same time, an orthodox Catholic group, Catholics United for the Faith (CUF) was disappointed with Hunthausen’s administration of the diocese and manner of teaching on some moral issues. Among such matters were the re-marriage of divorced Catholics who had not obtained a declaration of nullity (annulment), ambiguity regarding the proper role of ordained priests and laity in the administration of the Catholic sacraments, the formation of Catholic priests, the use of laicized (resigned) priests in Catholic ceremonies, and moral issues related to the acceptability of homosexual behavior. Catholic hospitals in the diocese had also been performing surgical contraceptive sterilization procedures, despite Church teaching condemning such operations as immoral.
As a result of the complaints surrounding the issues discussed above, in 1983 the Vatican authorized Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to launch an investigation. Archbishop (later Cardinal) James Hickey of Washington, DC was named apostolic visitor to the archdiocese of Seattle. Hickey's delegation met with Hunthausen and others to investigate his administrative and pastoral practices. The result of the visitation was a 1985 letter from Cardinal Ratzinger to Archbishop Hunthausen[1] which summarized recommended changes to be made in the Seattle Archdiocese.
In 1985, Pope John Paul II appointed the Reverend Donald W. Wuerl as auxiliary bishop of Seattle, with special faculties over certain aspects of the administration of the archdiocese. Hunthausen soon protested the extent of this relinquishment of his authority. When Wuerl was reassigned two years later, the Vatican appointed Bishop Thomas J. Murphy of Great Falls, Montana as coadjutor archbishop of Seattle. Upon Hunthausen's retirement four years later, Murphy succeeded him as archbishop.
According to Thomas Bokenkotter, "A resolution of the affair was finally announced by the Vatican in April 1989 after it accepted the report of a commission that recommended that Hunthausen’s authority be restored and a Coadjutor Archbishop be appointed. Hunthausen stoutly maintains that his archdiocese has remained fundamentally the same and was never in violation of Vatican doctrine; nor has he had to alter the general direction of his ministry or compromise his liberal beliefs." (<A Concise History of the Catholic Church>. Rev. and exp. ed. New York: Doubleday, 2004. 447).
Despite the attention surrounding the visitation, Archbishop Hunthausen is remembered most for his support of the poor and disenfranchised. He was also a great advocate for the youth and encouraged better catechesis in Catholic parishes and Catholic parochial schools despite waning enrollment. In 1985, he helped establish the Institute for Theological Studies at Seattle University, which in 1996 evolved into the School of Theology and Ministry. Archbishop Hunthausen retired in 1991 and currently resides near Helena, Montana. He still visits the archdiocese on occasion. Hunthausen is believed to be the last living American bishop who attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council.
[edit] Awards
1982 Hunthausen received the Thomas Merton Award.
[edit] Quotes
You held the position of archbishop of the Seattle diocese for 16 years. In that time, you had a huge impact on area Catholics as well as on the church as a whole. What do you think is the greatest legacy of your tenure?
"You'd almost have to ask that question to somebody else. If I have to respond, I have to say that I brought to the church, as I understood it, what the Second Vatican Council was inviting us to become."[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Seattle Catholic Journal: Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger's Report Issued on Seattle Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen, September 30, 1985
- ^ Hunthausen Hall Is Named For A Man Of Sound Character, Laura Slavik, June 14, 2004
