Raymond Hunthausen

Raymond Gerhardt "Dutch" Hunthausen (August 21, 1921 – July 22, 2018) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Helena from 1962 to 1975 and as Archbishop of Seattle from 1975 to 1991.

Biography

Early life and education The oldest of seven children, Raymond Hunthausen was born on August 21, 1921, in Anaconda, Montana, to Anthony Gerhardt and Edna Marie (née Tuchscherer) Hunthausen. His parents owned and operated a local grocery store. He grew up helping with the grocery business and working in the Tuchscherer brewery.Nicknamed "Dutch", Hunthausen received his early education from the Ursuline nuns at the parochial school, and excelled both academically and athletically during high school. However, he was persuaded by Reverend Bernard Topel, his spiritual director and mathematics professor at Carroll, to enter the priesthood.

Priesthood Hunthausen was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Helena by Bishop Joseph Gilmore on June 1, 1946, in Helena. He returned to Carroll College, where he served as a professor of chemistry (1946–57) and a football and basketball coach (1953–57). This tax resistance prompted the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to garnish his wages.

Church investigation As a result of the complaints surrounding Hunthausen's alleged deviations from Church doctrine, in 1983 the Vatican authorized Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to launch an investigation. Archbishop James A. Hickey of Washington was named apostolic visitor to the archdiocese. Hickey's delegation met with Hunthausen and others to investigate his administrative and pastoral practices. The investigation concluded that Hunthausen had exercised "weak doctrinal leadership" in a number of areas, including allowing children to receive the sacrament of Communion without first having received the sacrament of penance.

Thereafter, Fr Donald Wuerl was controversially named an auxiliary bishop with special powers. Thomas Murphy, Bishop of Great Falls–Billings, was appointed coadjutor bishop in 1987. According to Thomas Bokenkotter, "A resolution of the affair was finally announced by the Vatican in April after it accepted the report of a commission that recommended that Hunthausen's authority be restored and a coadjutor bishop 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." Hunthausen is remembered most for his support of the poor and disenfranchised. He was also an 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.

Retirement and legacy On August 21, 1991, Pope John Paul II accepted Hunthausen's resignation as Archbishop of Seattle, five years before the normal episcopal retirement age of 75. He then moved to Helena to live with his brother, Jack Hunthausen.