The American Bishops refused to take sides in the controversy between
the Holy See and Archbishop Raymond G. Hunthausen of Seattle as they met
for their annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Bishop James W. Malone, out-going
president of the conference, said in a statement approved by the bishops
that "The conference of bishops has no authority to intervene in the internal
affairs of a diocese or in the unique relationship between the Pope and
individual bishops." But, he added, "We are prepared to offer any assistance
judged helpful and appropriate by the parties involved." The conference
hopes that the Holy See will asks its help which might provide a cooling
off period in Seattle after which some solution could be found.
Dissatisfied with the Archbishop Hunthausen's governance of the Seattle
Archdiocese, the Holy See insisted that he delegate complete and final
decision-making authority over five areas of church life to his Rome-appointed
auxiliary, the Bishop Donald Wuerl: annulments, clergy formation, resigned
priests, liturgy and moral issues dealing with homosexuals and hospitals
(see Thomas J. Reese, "The Seattle Way of the Cross," Am., 9/13-20, pp.
111-112).
The Holy See's action caused an uproar in Seattle from the many priests,
religious and lay people who believe that the Archbishop is a victim of
CUF (Catholics United for the Faith), the Wanderer and other right-wing
groups. According to Hunthausen supporters, conservatives were incensed
by the Archbishop's antinuclear stands but realized that the Vatican would
act only on church issues. His critics therefore dug up every bit of dirt
they could find in Seattle, even tape recording homilies and lectures.
They then wrote to Rome with their complaints.
The Vatican chronology released October 24 by Archbishop Laghi does
in fact mention the large number of complaints the Holy See received from
Seattle as one reason for its action, but many in Seattle say that these
complaints came from a small, well-organized group.
Conservatives have claimed victories in both Seattle and Newark, where
they claim to have forced the early retirement of Archbishop Peter L. Gerety
who they hated because his archdiocese gave birth to RENEW. Their next
target is said to be Archbishop Rembert Weakland of Milwaukee.
Some observers believed that the release of the Vatican chronology damaged
the Holy See's case with the American bishops. Prior to its publication,
most bishops simply gave the Vatican the benefit of the doubt, believing
that there must be more to the case than had been made public. Publication
of the chronology prior to the meeting of the NCCB gave Archbishop Hunthausen
an opportunity to defend himself before his brother bishops. By the time
he was finished, according to bishops present at the executive session,
many bishops were more sympathetic to him.
In his statements to the bishops, Archbishop Hunthausen said that when
he responded to inquiries from the Vatican he was "politely and routinely
thanked for the information I provided only to hear nothing further at
all until the major decision was made to undertake the extraordinary step
of the Apostolic Visitation". In addition, he never saw the report sent
to the Vatican by Archbishop James A. Hickey after his visitation.
"For the good of the Church in Seattle and beyond," he said, "I am absolutely
convinced that the matter of the governance of the church of Seattle needs
to be returned to normal as soon as humanly possible. I would even say
at once."
Very significantly, the original draft of Bishop Malone's statement,
which came from the NCCB Administrative Committee, said that the decision
of the Holy See was "just and reasonable." That was dropped from the final
text so that the bishops moved during executive session from endorsing
the Vatican's actions in Seattle to a position of neutrality. In addition,
the final text added an offer by the bishops to help the parties involved,
help that had been requested by Archbishop Hunthausen.
Whether the Holy See will ask the conference to help or not remains
to be seen. Archbishop Laghi in his address to the bishops cited a passage
from Pope St. Leo the Great that affirmed the authority of the Bishop of
Rome over the whole church, including its bishops. The use of this passage
was interesting considering its historical context. At the beginning of
444, Hilary, the bishop of Arles, acting on complaints from people in Besancon,
forced its bishop to resign. The bishop, Celidonius, pleaded his case before
Pope Leo who restored him to his diocese. Thus Pope Leo asserted and exercised
his authority as successor of St. Peter in order to defend a local bishop
against charges made by people in his diocese, and to protest interference
by one bishop in the exercise of another bishop's office.
At their meeting, the bishops also elected Archbishop John L. May as
president and Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk as vice president. During
the last three years as vice president of the conference, Archbishop May
worked with Bishop Malone in defending the conference from outside attack.
He is well liked in his diocese but considered shy and quiet. He would
probably prefer to work behind the scenes in the conference but his new
job will put him uncomfortably in the spot light.
In his diocese, Archbishop May has pushed singing at Mass, communion
under both species and having women involved as lectors and eucharistic
ministers. The joke among his priests is: "What does it take to keep the
bishop happy? Wine, women and song." He has also crossed with local conservatives
with his opposition to the use of violence against abortion clinics.
Archbishop Pilarczyk is also well liked in his archdiocese where he
succeeded the Most Rev. Joseph Bernardin, a very hard act to follow. He
is know as being bright, a quick study, very decisive and articulate with
a dry sense of humor. He was considered by the press to be the moderate
candidate for vice president with Archbishop Weakland the liberal and Cardinal
Bernard F. Law the conservative. Interestingly, Cardinal Law lost elections
for eight separate offices during the meeting. Although Cardinal Law usually
received around 100 votes, in the final runoffs between him and anyone
else, the bishops rejected Cardinal Law.
Another surprise was the election of Bishop Joseph Sullivan of Brooklyn
as chairman of the committee on justice and peace, a position previously
held by Cardinal John J. O'Connor. Archbishop Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles
was considered a shoe in for the post but was defeated by an auxiliary
who had opposed Cardinal O'Connor on the gay rights legislation in New
York City and the banning of Governor Mario Cumo from speaking at parish
or church functions.
Some observers note that Archbishop Mahony opposed the appointment of
Michael J. Buckley, S.J., to the staff of the NCCB and attempted to take
from the NCCB general secretary the power to appoint staff. This, they
feel, caused many bishops to think that he and Cardinal Law are not team
players but are more interested in their own agendas than in the views
of the rest of the bishops. Archbishop Pilarczyk, on the other hand, was
chairman of the committee cleared that Father Buckley.
In other action, the bishops on a very close vote sent back to the Committee
on Canonical Affairs proposed criteria for the use of general absolution
that would have made it very difficult to use general absolution in the
United States. It was the opinion of the committee "that the conditions
envisioned by the law (c. 961.2) which would allow the diocesan bishop
to determine general cases of necessity when general absolution could be
used would be difficult to verify" in the United States.
Archbishops John R. Roach, Francis T. Hurley and Weakland spoke strongly
against the committee's recommendation. Supporting it were Archbishops
Edmund C. Szoka, Theodore E. McCarrick and Cardinal O'Connor, although
the latter admitted using general absolution to good purpose while in the
military.
One disappointment to liturgist was the defeat of the Eucharistic Prayer
A, the first to be written in English (for an early version of this prayer
see Am. --about a year or less ago). The prayer needed a two-thirds vote
but it did not even get a majority. Opposition arose to its poetic language--"death
would hunt him down"--and to absence of a second epiclesis.
Finally, the opening address of Bishop Malone, retiring president of
the conference, should be noted. He defended the church in the United States
from critics who say it has become soft and comfortable. He pointed to
high church attendance rates in comparison with the rest of the world,
renewal in parishes and religious communities, and increasing numbers of
laity involved in ministry and as theologians.
He cited the studies of religious life and of seminaries as signs of
successful collegiality with the Holy See. The collegial process developed
for writing pastoral letters caught people's attention as well as produced
good documents. He noted "There is scarcely another group in the United
States which couples a horror at abortion with a preferential option for
the poor, a concern for a more generous immigration policy with a recognition
of what easy divorce has done to the family, the resettlement of refugees
from Southeast Asia with a condemnation of military aid to the Contras.
The Church in the United States has become something of a sign of contradiction..."
At the same time, he recognized "a growing and dangerous dissatisfaction
of elements of the church in the United States from the Holy See." He also
raised questions about the role of women in the church and about the ability
of the church to provide the Eucharist because of the declining numbers
of priests. While he did not provide answers to these questions, he placed
them clearly on the table.
By Thomas J. Reese, S.J., senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center
America, Nov. 29, 1986
Copyright © 1985 by America Press
All rights reserved.
See also