The oldest of seven children, Raymond Hunthausen was born in Anaconda, Montana, to Anthony Gerhardt and Edna Marie (née Tuchscherer) Hunthausen.[1] His parents owned and operated a local grocery store.[2] 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.[2]
Hunthausen was ordained a priest by Bishop Joseph Gilmore on June 1, 1946.[5] He returned to Carroll College, where he served as a professor of chemistry (1946–57) and a football and basketball coach (1953–57).[1] In 1953 he earned a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Notre Dame.[2] Hunthausen served as president of Carroll College from 1957 to 1962. He was named a domestic prelate in 1958.[1]
Starting in 1976, Hunthausen worked with Call to Action and sought to implement their program. 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.
As a result of the complaints surrounding Hunthausen's alleged deviations from church doctrine, 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 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.[7]
Donald Wuerl, later Archbishop of Washington, was controversially named an auxiliary bishop with special powers. 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.[8] 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."[9]
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. He then moved to Helena, Montana, to live with his brother, Jack Hunthausen.[3] Raymond continued to hear confessions once a week in East Helena, Montana, and led retreats in the Diocese of Helena.
On July 22, 2018, Hunthausen died in his home in Helena at age 96. He is the second archbishop to be interred in the crypt at St. James Cathedral.
Awards
The 1982 Thomas Merton Award by the Thomas Merton Center for Peace and Justice