Raymond Hunthausen

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Styles of
Raymond Hunthausen
Reference style The Most Reverend
Spoken style His Excellency
Religious style Monsignor
Posthumous style not applicable


Raymond Gerhardt Hunthausen (born August 21, 1921) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, serving as Archbishop of Seattle from 1975 to 1991.

Contents

[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 Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. One of which was Archbishop's view on homosexuality. In a letter to Archbishop Hunthausen, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger wrote that "The Archdiocese should withdraw all support from any group which does not unequivocally accept the teaching of the Magisterium concerning the intrinsic evil of homosexual activity. This teaching has been set forth in this Congregation's Declaration on Sexual Ethics and more recently in the document, Educational Guidance in Human Love, issued by the Congregation for Catholic Education in 1983." [1]

[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 and the Trident missile program which had a base nearby, in Puget Sound. In a speech, he said, “Trident is the Auschwitz of Puget Sound.”[1] This tax resistance prompted the Internal Revenue Service to garnish his wages. This angered members of the U.S. military and the Reagan administration, as well as politically conservative Catholics.

A tradition-minded Catholic group, Catholics United for the Faith (CUF) was upset 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 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[2] which summarized recommended changes to be made in the Seattle Archdiocese.

In 1985, Pope John Paul II appointed 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."[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Amundson, Mavis “Local professor notes Hunthausen’s influence” West Seattle Herald 11 January 1984
  2. ^ Seattle Catholic Journal: Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger's Report Issued on Seattle Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen, September 30, 1985
  3. ^ Hunthausen Hall Is Named For A Man Of Sound Character, Laura Slavik, June 14, 2004

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Thomas Arthur Connolly		 Archbishop of Seattle
1975–1991		 Succeeded by
Thomas Joseph Murphy
Preceded by
Joseph Michael Gilmore		 Bishop of Helena
1962–1975		 Succeeded by
Elden Francis Curtiss
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