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December 07, 2004
Diary of an Excommunication
From Godspy, a personal essay following, for three Sundays at least, the path of Fr. Bill Hausen, the Pittsburgh Diocese priest excommunicated last spring:
I was afraid of what might happen if I entered the ballroom of the Sewickley Country Inn, 25 minutes from Sacred Heart in Shadyside and the home of Hausen's new Christ Hope Ecumenical Catholic Church. The April 16 edition of the Pittsburgh Catholic warned me that any "willful participation in this church implies separation from the Catholic Church." I imagined black-robed clergy at the door, taking the names of all baptized Catholics who entered. I imagined plain-clothes, undercover clergy in parked cars in the hotel parking lot, taking down license plate numbers. I even imagined that at the moment I crossed the threshold of that ballroom, my name would disappear from some divine list, cutting me off from salvation forever.
It turns out not to be as dramatic as all that, and nothing like Becket at all.
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Comments
Another sad tale of one of the chickens believing they are in charge of the chicken coop.
Posted by: ellen at Dec 7, 2004 2:04:55 AM
Even sadder that he's taking so many people with him.
Posted by: Lynn at Dec 7, 2004 2:27:48 AM
Amazing how undisciplined 'love talk' lands some people into the most egregiously heterodox positions. This must be Satan's secret, and frighteningly effective, weapon to sow discord.
Posted by: Cornelius at Dec 7, 2004 3:57:25 AM
Very interesting article.
I've been friends with a few priests (my grandparents were good enough friends with two priests, that the guys always came to our family reunions. One of them, Father Luke, taught me coin tricks... and he got my Dad to convert.) I've got to say I prefer the "dull" priests, the average Joes, to the charismatic ones. With a dull priest, the attention is always on God and the Mass... no one is really focusing on the priest. He almost disappears as a person or personality in Mass. And these guys are usually relaxing to hang out with to discuss things - they don't get above themselves or think they're better than the laity.
That's been my experience anyway. I feel sorry for the people led astray by Hausen. I hope they come to realize what's wrong with their church.
Posted by: Meep at Dec 7, 2004 5:00:50 AM
Meep, I hope they come to realize what's wrong with their church.
You must mean: I hope they come to realize what's wrong with their "church."
Posted by: Cornelius at Dec 7, 2004 7:20:12 AM
"It turns out not to be as dramatic as all that, and nothing like Becket at all."
I believe the dramatic part occurs after death.
Posted by: Donald R. McClarey at Dec 7, 2004 8:05:20 AM
When the author cited Garry Wills to defend the unity of the Church, Hansen was cooked. Then there was that messy issue of apostolic succession- or who succeeds the founder. We've had numerous messy lawsuits around here when the guys who start cul- uh, denominations die, and the 'spiritual sons' argue over the assets in court. Maybe Hansen could designate Frank the organist as a 'spiritual son.' Would save thousands in future legal fees.
Posted by: Gerard E. at Dec 7, 2004 8:46:05 AM
I live about 10 minutes from Sacred Heart and have nieces and nephews at the school, so I often attend Mass there. My sister told me that when Hausen returned to his home parish (before all this happened), he wasted no time telling any parishoner (who merely greeted him with "hello") about his struggles with alcoholism, his problems with the institutional Church etc. She said that once she ran into him with her 12-year-old daughter and her friend and he told the girls, "don't ever become a nun...there's no future in it!" The subject hadn't even been raised, my sister said. I myself heard a few of his homilies and they all boiled down to variations on the same rambling "God is love" theme.
In short, it's all about Fr. Hausen. The narcissism is palpable, and I'm talking about the personality disorder, not the garden variety. He's a sad person and needs prayers.
Posted by: Cheryl at Dec 7, 2004 9:38:51 AM
This past Sunday, I ran into a friend here in Dallas. She's in RCIA now, having decided to come into the Church. She's very enthusiastic, which is great to see. I asked her how it was going. Not good, she said.
The class of about 20, which is held at one of the most reputably orthodox parishes in Dallas (I don't know how you'd know that, as the pastor never preaches on doctrine, but anyway), is led by a seminarian. The seminarian, said my friend, is almost finished with his studies, and is preparing for ordination. Yet she said he cannot or will not answer basic doctrinal questions people have. She said folks really do want to know what the Church teaches about this or that, especially the difficult doctrines for some to accept, like the male-only priesthood.
But this seminarian won't help them. All he wants to talk about is how people feel about the Church, and how he feels about the Church. She said finally she told him, "This is not about your feelings. We don't want to know what your feelings are. We want you to teach us."
At one point, she said, the seminarian was giving the runaround to one woman, and she (my friend) finally told the lady, "Look, the Catechism is clear about this. I'll send you the link to the paragraph you need when I get home tonight."
I said to my friend, "Wait a minute. This is an RCIA class, and y'all aren't working from a Catechism?"
"No," she said. "[The seminarian] handed out a one-page 'Catechism FAQ,' but that's it."
Again, I remind you that this is the parish that people who are looking for a conservative place to worship go.
I told my friend that this is how it is in the Church today. I advised her to stick it out, say what she needs to say to get received at Easter, but to educate herself in Church doctrine with the Catechism and other resources. It is possible today to do that. I told her that she will almost never hear doctrine explained or taught from a pulpit from here on out, and that it is up to her to educate herself in the faith.
The disregard so many clerics have for the teachings and the heritage of the Church makes me so angry now I literally have to walk out of the mass and pray my rosary during the homily at my parish. I am a sinner who was saved by the grace of God from the awful path I was on, and drawn into the Catholic Church. I could not believe the mercy God showed me by doing this for me. Another convert friend, a former Baptist, said to me later, "Why aren't Catholics shouting from the rooftops about this stuff?" He was talking about the treasury of doctrine, tradition, sacraments, saints, and the entire patrimony that belongs to all Catholics. I agreed with him. But the clergy, by and large, treats it like an embarrassment.
Just last week, I was e-mailing with a revert friend about the novel "I Am Charlotte Simmons," and how we think one big reason the elite don't like it is that Tom Wolfe, the author, believes that sexual purity is a virtue. My friend and I got into a discussion about how we both learned from bitter experience how right the Church's teachings on sexual morality are, and indeed how liberating they are. But you never hear this from the pulpit today. People are mired in sorrow and confusion, and too many priests, who have the answers, and are ordained by the Church to preach the Good News that saves souls and sets captives free, are too busy talking about feelings, and making nice.
This is where making "feelings" the primary way you judge the truth of religious experience leads. I was talking to a Methodist friend in my hometown last month. I grew up in that church, and the pastor never taught doctrine that I can recall, only delivered avuncular sermons about being nice to each other. She mentioned that the woman who leads their adult Sunday School class doesn't believe in the divinity of Jesus, and doesn't believe in the Trinity.
"She's not even a Christian, and she's teaching your Sunday School class?!" I said, astonished.
My friend shot me a look of disapproval, and said: "Everybody is entitled to their own opinion."
Posted by: Rod Dreher at Dec 7, 2004 11:06:05 AM
What a great article--the author does a fine job of humanizing everyone involved, which is no easy task. She sidestepped the usual journalistic template--admirable iconoclast vs. hidebound institution--quite nicely. I find myself sympathizing with Fr. Hausen and hoping he and his followers realize that they set aside the pearl of great price when they left.
Posted by: Dale Price at Dec 7, 2004 11:39:19 AM
Rod,
Your story of the shortcomings of catechesis even in a "conservative" parish is disturbing, but unfortunately it is not unique; it's almost commonplace. I know what it's like to watch a Church ignore its heritage as an Apostolic Church - I was raised an Episcopalian, and had to leave in the early 80s.
My wife and I considered Catholicism at that time, and for a while we attended our local Catholic parish. The instruction of elementary-school-aged children was done cooperatively by the parents, and they asked us to participate (nobody seemed to notice or care that we weren't Catholic). Our turn to teach happened to fall on Palm Sunday, and we taught the children (aged 7 or 8) the significance of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, and the fact that He had come to Jerusalem to die on the Cross.
For this, there was hell to pay. The other parents and the Christian education coordinator (a religious, I think, but I'm not sure) were outraged that we had scarred the children for life with the information that Jesus had to die. We were certainly no longer welcome to take our turn teaching. Unsurprisingly, we soon looked elsewhere for an ecclesial home. They never did figure out that we weren't Catholic but were seriously looking into becoming Catholic.
So, it would seem that catechesis for both children and adults leaves a great deal to be desired. My question is, how can a Church hope to continue to be the Catholic and Apostolic Church of the Creed, if it does not, in fact, impart the Apostolic Tradition to its faithful? The hierarchy can't do it alone, if for no other reason than that tomorrow's hierarchy comes from today's laity. If the laity are not receiving the Apostolic Tradition, ultimately the hierarchy won't have it either.
You cannot hand on what you have not got.
Posted by: Chris Jones at Dec 7, 2004 2:52:40 PM
Some have "got" it, Chris, but the Catholic church is much smaller than most people (esp. most Catholics) think. Some people are teaching their kids and most of the genuine catechesis that is going on is among family groups, groups of friends, a few scatter schools and on the Internet....
The church will always be here, but you're right--we're not handing this on in an efficient way at all. And therefore, yes, it can't help but get smaller.
Posted by: michigancatholic at Dec 8, 2004 12:00:28 AM
And Rod, I know this isn't how it's supposed to be, but tell your friend this is just the stupid initiation she has to go through to get into the Church. Better than getting a swirly, but not much. However, in many cases, it's the only way into the church and at this moment in time, has to be endured. Once in, a person can turn into a REAL catholic. =)
It's actually short-sighted on the part of the libs. It was the biggest shot they ever got at me and they mangled it entirely. My guard is now up and my crap-detectors are on. I'm not alone either.
Posted by: michigancatholic at Dec 12, 2004 4:18:08 PM
There is nothing new about Bill Hausen's breakaway church or the RCIA in which sincere converts are taught nothing about the Catholic Church and eternal Rome.
What's the difference between Hausen's Christ Hope "Catholic" Church and the Church where priests dress up like clowns, making a mockery of the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, ad libs the words of the Institution (thereby invalidating the Consecration of the bread and wine), and effecting many other aberrant anything-goes antics?
As we see, is Bill Hausen, a priest forever according to the Order of Melchisedek, the only one excommunicated?
This is the sad tale, as Ellen charged, of one of the chickens taking charge of the coop (everyone becoming his own pope).
Mattheus
Posted by: Mattheus at Dec 13, 2004 11:23:15 AM
I came to know Father Hausen well while he was a priest at St. James Church in Sewickley. I did not follow him to his new place of worship. My spiritual journey continues to lead me to communion with the Roman Catholic Church and its wealth of tradition and teaching.
The article by Jessica Mesman and the attendant comments appear to me, however, to miss the point of Father Bill’s ministry entirely. In order to understand this, one must consider whether there is a difference between religion and spirituality. Perhaps these definitions serve a useful purpose in explication:
"Religion:
1. commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2. a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
3. a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith
Spirituality:
1. sensitivity or attachment to religious values
2. the quality or state of being spiritual"
My view is that Father Bill preaches spirituality, not religion. That is not to say that religious people do not possess spirituality. Rather, what Father Bill teaches is that you do not have to be religious to be spiritual.
He believes that you do not have to be committed or devoted to an institutionalized set of beliefs to be attached to the religious value of unselfish love. Indeed, all persons, including the divorced and remarried, the lapsed catholic, the non-catholic, the non-religious, are capable of and called to do good, or as Father Bill puts it, “Do God” by practicing selfless love as Jesus did.
While you and I might not agree with him, and might not believe that Agapic love is the be-all and end-all that Father Bill does, at least we should try to understand what he means when he states on his web site
“AGAPIC LOVE
Our Basic Theology and Spirituality is based on the 2000 year tradition of Jesus Christ, that God Is Love.
SPIRITUALITY, IN OUR COMMUNITY, MEANS SHARING GOD'S LOVE WITH WHOMEVER WE ENCOUNTER, NOW, IN THIS WORLD, THE BEST WAY WE CAN, IMPERFECT AS THAT MAY BE.
THE WORD "GOD' MEANS LOVING OTHERS AS JESUS LOVED.
We are persons from diverse backgrounds. We are POSITIVE and not interested in old battles. We too are searching for more meaning in our lives, in our Interpersonal Relationships.
All Persons are welcome to our Communion Table.”
For me, that is not enough, and I am uncomfortable with his mixing of religious ritual with his message of spirituality, but I try, at least, not to judge him harshly.
His acts of unselfish kindness are well documented. He may be off on the wrong path, but who am I to judge?
Posted by: Anthony Cerminaro at Dec 15, 2004 6:16:51 PM
