Hunthausen Gets a Warm Welcome; Future Uncertain

Embattled Archbishop Raymond G. Hunthausen, returning home to a joyous and tearful outpouring of affection, said Friday that he will seek a face-to-face meeting with the Pope.

Flowers, telegrams and other symbols of support poured Friday into the Seattle archdiocese’s headquarters, which was festooned with a giant red-and-yellow banner that read: “Welcome Back, Archbishop, We Love You.”

Capping an emotional first day back home, the soft-spoken, cautious Hunthausen told a news conference, his first since seeking the support of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in his dispute with the Vatican, that he has no plans to resign.

Indeed, he said, he hopes to go to Rome himself to win back the powers that were stripped from him.

But a papal audience will not come soon--maybe not for months, he said--and until it does, Seattle’s 300,000-member Catholic archdiocese will be left in the unusual and uncomfortable position of having dual leaders--Hunthausen and a Vatican-appointed auxiliary bishop, Donald Wuerl.

“We will do the best we can with what we have,” Hunthausen said of the situation, which he described earlier in the week as “all but unworkable.”

“We have been asked to do this. We have been struggling with it for the last number of weeks.”

In September, the Vatican stripped Hunthausen of his responsibilities for the liturgy, the archdiocesan marriage court, homosexual and health care issues and the education and training of priests, shifting those tasks to Wuerl. Amid national publicity this week in Washington, Hunthausen appealed for support at the national conference of U.S. bishops, which responded with a statement expressing sympathy for Hunthausen but supporting the Vatican’s right to intervene.

Chatted During Flight

During the flight home from Washington late Thursday, Hunthausen chatted with aides, read news clippings about his case and sipped a highball in between greeting supporters. He had little idea of the joyous greeting awaiting him at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

“I’m glad the week is over,” the obviously exhausted cleric told one passenger on the plane. But he added: “I think something good will come of this.”

When he finally arrived at the airport shortly before 10 p.m. without Wuerl, who stopped in Pittsburgh to see his father--Hunthausen was greeted by more than 250 enthusiastic, sign-waving supporters, who arrived in a chilly drizzle and then waited for more than an hour in the otherwise deserted terminal.

“I Love Hunthausen” buttons were worn by many supporters at the reception, which was loosely organized by the nondenominational Church Council of Greater Seattle, but consisted largely of local Roman Catholics.

Whistles, cheers and loud applause met the sleepy, 65-year-old archbishop as he shuffled off the plane. As he threaded his way through the crowded terminal, he was handed several pink and white carnation leis, a bouquet of gladiolus, a single red rose and numerous cards expressing support.

Little Girl Greets Him

One little girl squeezed through the crowd to hand him a card on which “I love my Archbishop Hunthausen!” was neatly printed. When he asked if she wrote the sentiment, she chirped, “No, my mommy did,” but then turned the card over, pointed to some crayon-colored hearts and smiled, “I did this.”

One woman came out of the crowd to say, “Thank you for sticking by us.” Others simply grasped his hand, looked tearfully into his eyes and said, “We love you” or “We’re proud of you.”

“You are great, great people,” he said after ascending some chairs to address the crowd.

“We love you!” one person yelled, bringing more cheers.

“I thank you for all your prayers and all your support,” Hunthausen said before being grandly swept out of the airport by the emotional gathering.

Despite the impressive demonstration of affection shown Hunthausen upon his return, church leaders and parishioners here are uncertain of the future of the archdiocese and its archbishop.

Supporters Disappointed

Every supporter interviewed by The Times said he or she was disappointed that the bishops’ conference did not defend Hunthausen more openly and forcefully.

They all said that they remain optimistic largely because Hunthausen himself said he was satisfied with the U.S. bishops’ statement, given the circumstances.

The bishops issued their statement after an unusual five-hour closed debate. During the debate, a source close to the situation said, the archbishop received personal support from about 70 or 80 of the 300 bishops, which the source said was more than Hunthausen expected.

Several supportive colleagues at the meeting personally stood before Archbishop Pio Laghi the Vatican’s apostolic pro-nuncio, or liaison to the U.S. bishops, to declare their support for Hunthausen, the source said, even though the Seattle prelate warned them that, in some future case, they could be the subject of a Vatican inquiry. “They were risking their jobs,” this source said.

‘Struggled Mightily’

Hunthausen’s supporters here also said that they take strength in the archbishop’s statement that while the conference position was not what some had hoped for, he appreciated that the bishops “struggled mightily” and expressed “deep concern” for him.

Still, there is much concern locally over the future of both the archdiocese and its current leader.

At the bishops’ conference, Hunthausen’s statement had lamented that the unprecedented division of duties with Wuerl is “all but impossible, even to the point of being unworkable.”

“He himself has said that a two-headed model does not work, so we have to wonder what are the options,” said Father Philip Wallace, a Hunthausen supporter and priest in suburban Burien.

“That’s where I am really confused. I can’t believe we just go home now and (pretend) it’s business as usual.”

The archbishop’s supporters believe that Hunthausen’s next step will not become clear until next week after he meets with advisers, including a presbyterial council of priests, a pastoral council of lay people and a personal “cabinet” of three chancery priests.

To Delay Rome Trip

Hunthausen himself said it could be “months” before he goes to Rome, and he would not even hazard a guess on how long the entire controversy--which began with the opening of a Vatican inquiry three years ago--will continue.

Critics of the activist archbishop, however, are already asking how long Hunthausen can stay in his position.

“He said he thinks it’s unworkable, and if he thinks it’s unworkable, it is probably going to be unworkable,” said Erven Park, a Kelso, Wash., layman who publishes a bimonthly conservative newsletter, Catholic Truth, opposed to Hunthausen.

“And if it is going to be this unworkable situation, the Vatican will have to do something about it.”

Call for Resignation

Park and other conservative Catholic critics, including an outspoken layman named Daniel Barrett of Des Moines, Wash., said that they believe that Hunthausen should resign.

“Though he may not do all of these things himself, or even always know about them,” Barrett said, “he is the chap in charge of the ship, and he has to take responsibility for it.”

However, the most active Hunthausen supporters say they believe that he has enough local support and personal dedication to resolve the controversy.

Key to his success, supporters said, will be the ability of diocesan staff and lay volunteers to smooth over as best they can the areas of concern to the Vatican.

Father Joseph Kramis, a Hunthausen adviser, said the archdiocese “will work very diligently . . . in the months ahead to respond to the concerns of Rome.”

Point to Popularity

Kramis and other backers of the beleaguered archbishop point to what they say is his popularity in the western Washington region. About 13,000 parishioners, they said, have signed petitions supporting him, 3,000 also have written favorable letters to the Vatican and hundreds turn out for each of his personal appearances.

Hunthausen is an ironic candidate to be the center of such a controversy. He has gained wide attention for his anti-nuclear activities--most notably his refusal to pay that share of income taxes that go toward national defense--but he is in most ways a conservative adherent to church orthodoxy, supporters say.

They say, for example, that while much has been made about his decision to allow an openly homosexual group to celebrate Mass at St. James Cathedral, the archbishop has made plain his view, in line with Catholic teaching, that homosexuality itself is immoral.

Similarly, they say, he fervently supports the church’s opposition to abortion and to sterilization as a method of birth control.

“When it comes right down to the ultimate question,” an old friend, Archbishop Francis Hurley of Alaska, has said, “he is obedient; he respects the church authority.”

Wants to Shun Publicity

Hunthausen is particularly keen to step out of the publicity surrounding his case, and thus avoid irritating the Vatican further.

However, after returning to Seattle and asking two airport guards to jump-start his car--in his nervous rush to Washington, he had left the headlights burning all week--he said during a drive home that he will leave further comment on his case to other bishops.

Speaking to a roomful of reporters in an archdiocese office here, Hunthausen chose his words carefully and repeatly sought to avoid any criticism of the Vatican or a display of defiance.

He said the management of the archdiocese will suffer as a result of the division in responsibilities. Church duties can not be easily separated and the staff have difficulty determining which matters to bring to him and which to bring to Wuerl, he said. The only way such a system would work is “if he and I were handcuffed together so we don’t get in each other’s way,” he said, smiling.

He stressed that he expects that other American bishops will help him resolve the situation but he said he is still uncertain what form the assistance will take. He called the bishops’ handling of his case at their conference “a unique moment” in the church and praised them for giving him an opportunity to express his side in the conflict. The final statement released by the bishops represented a “dramatic move” in their thinking because they took no side and instead expressed both support for him and the Pope.

He described the closed sessions during which the bishops “struggled” over his situation as “the most moving, profound experience of my life.”