Raymond Hunthausen - Church Investigation

Church Investigation

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 which summarized recommended changes to be made in the Seattle Archdiocese, but which first affirmed his ministry, his orthodoxy, and his loyalty to the Council and to the pope:

“...you have striven with heart and mind to be a good bishop of the Church, eager to implement the renewal called for in the decrees of the Vatican Council II. ...It is also true that you and those who assist you have suffered from exaggerated criticism and routine misunderstanding. Our observations are based neither on the complaints of your more strident critics, nor on publications that are obviously biased. Nor do we wish to encourage extremist groups who are wholly lacking in a spirit of cooperation and seek to destroy or suppress whatever is not to their liking.” (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, 30 September 1985)

In January 1986, Pope John Paul II appointed Donald Wuerl as auxiliary bishop of Seattle. Bishop Wuerl was told he was being given faculties in five liturgical and administrative areas over and above Archbishop Hunthausen; the Archbishop was informed differently. By May 1987, the irregular situation had become untenable and Bishop Wuerl was removed from his position.

Shortly after, in a more traditional model, 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."

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, with his brother, Father Jack Hunthausen. He still hears confessions once a week in East Helena. As of October 2011, Hunthausen is the last living American bishop to have attended all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council.