When, last February, Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen invited seventy lay and clerical leaders of the Seattle archdiocese for a day-long “reflection” on church and politics, the group met on the waterfront in a half- completed geodesic dome, before a statue of Buddha, amid the haze of burning incense. A laywoman with authority in her voice led off the discussion by announcing: “We are not here to think; we are here to get in touch with our feelings.”
On the ferryboat home, one distinguished older priest held his head in his hands. Questioned about his visible mournfulness, he replied that the Catholic people had invested about $400,000 in his philosophical and theological education. Now he was being asked not to think.
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