Response to “Report related to Rev. Henry Clay Hunt, III” by Marian Casillas, Ed.D.

 

Why after all this time has the Archdiocese of San Antonio seen fit to issue a statement concerning Father Henry Clay Hunt III? The first time I heard about a change of status regarding Father Clay was during the Liturgical Celebration at the Ordination of the Deacons in Del Rio in May 2018. At this gathering Archbishop Gustavo informed all those in attendance that Father Clay would be taking a sabbatical and he introduced Father Jaime Paniagua as the new pastor of St. Joseph Church.

I am not aware of any formal statement from the Archdiocese being issued about Father Clay until now.

It just so happens that Father Clay along with eight other persecuted priests spoke out on June 17, 2021 on the Church Militant website, The Vortex segment titled, “This Has to End” in which these victims of physical and spiritual abuse at the hands of the hierarchy exposed their struggles against corrupt or cowardly bishops, and then this report about Father Clay is issued by the Archdiocese seven days later on June 24, 2021.

The report states that it has issued “the revocation of faculties to hear confessions from Rev. Henry Clay Hunt III”. I recall reading about Saint Jean Vianney (Curé d'Ars), the patron saint of priests, that he was ordained a priest with the stipulation that he could not hear Confessions, but after he received his first assignment he was able to hear Confessions and that God had a sense of humor because for a priest who was ordained that could not hear Confessions he came to be known as a priest who heard endless hours of Confessions from countless people. Now that Father Clay can no longer hear Confessions it saddens me to know that countless people will be deprived of his ministry since I have witnessed the long Confessional lines with Father Clay and what I will always remember is seeing him hear a person’s Confession outdoors standing next to his motorcycle. Everyone knew that Father Clay was always available to hear your Confession at the drop of a hat, no matter the time, no matter the place.

If this is such a serious matter why did the Archbishop prefer, for more than 18 months to engage these difficulties privately with Father Clay and not make the public aware until precisely now?

The report states that “the information in this report is shared in order to ensure that the faithful do not invalidly celebrate the Sacrament of Penance with Rev. Hunt”. I was taught that the Sacraments are administered “in Persona Christi” that is, in the person of Christ, when the priests exercise their sanctifying, teaching, and guiding functions for the sake of the members of the Body, the Church. In other words, the grace of God does not depend on the grace or lack thereof of the priest. If a person of faith does not know that a priest has his faculties removed the person can nonetheless receive the grace from God. I can attest to this reality because I have unknowingly received Communion from a priest who it was later revealed was having an affair with a married woman and who later left the priesthood to marry this woman. I pray that God honored my desire for receiving Communion and not the lack of faith of the priest when I faithfully sought to receive Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.

The report states that it is issuing this “in order to clarify certain related misperceptions that have reasonably caused scandal and distress among the faithful”. In May 2018 Archbishop Gustavo told us that Father Clay was going on a sabbatical and the next thing we are told is that on September 2019 Father Clay was asked “to discuss what appeared to be his misappropriation of significant funds given in the second collection”. And the report on this matter abruptly ends with the statement that “the Archbishop opened a canonical investigation into the matter”. Just the facts, only state exactly what happened, without embellishment or exaggeration. Since the report is not signed we do not know who wrote it, but apparently we can surmise that whoever wrote the report had to be present at that meeting  since the person describes in explicit detail how he experienced Father Clay’s emotional demeanor by using highly charged words and phrases to put Father Clay’s behavior in a bad light.

The report then jumps to be critical of Father Clay’s personal expressions and freedom of speech as “causing confusion and division at St. Joseph Parish”. Freedom of speech is still an American Constitutional right even though certain social media platforms and the political left are desperately trying to nullify that freedom.

From September 2019 we jump to June 3, 2020 when we are informed that the Archbishop gave Father Clay “a singular penal precept” which appears to have included “three requirements” and when Father Clay objected to this the Archbishop then conceded to only two requirements.  

The report states that the Archbishop “forbade Rev. Hunt, with a warning of ecclesiastical penalty, to use social media to comment on the decisions or activities of Catholic leaders, parishes, or organizations.” When a priest takes vows of obedience to Church leaders does he automatically renounce his God-given freedoms as a citizen of this country? Must priests blindly do as they are told and merely follow the commands of men or above all follow the Commandments of God? At the Nuremburg Trials not even the Nazis military leaders could be excused with the refrain that they were merely following orders when they committed ghastly crimes against humanity. Frankly I am disappointed that more priests did not criticize on social media or elsewhere the Bishop’s dispensation throughout the world from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass during the so-called pandemic. Throughout the centuries the Catholic Church has remained open to administer the Sacraments, for public worship, to bring comfort to the afflicted and peace in the midst of tragedy and turmoil. There have been plagues and pestilences and the Church did not close. There have been wars and conflicts and the Church did not close. There have been persecutions and executions and the Church did not close.

In the year 2020, the year that means perfect vision, we saw that the hierarchy had become a band of worldly, compromised men who take their marching orders from men and not from God, who believe in government and not in God, who put their faith in the words of so-called experts instead of putting their faith in The Word of God. This was the time for the Catholic Church to shine forth its light and life to the world, but instead we showed the world that we were engulfed by the same darkness and entangled in the same fear of death as everyone else. Our faith should have made us behave differently because we believed differently.

After having read the research of the investigative reporting done by Lepanto Institute about Church money funding nefarious ministries and organizations, for me personally I am glad that Father Clay did not give that money from the “second collections” for the purposes of funding abortion and contraception in conjunction with Planned Parenthood, profiting Marxist entities like Antifa and Black Lives Matter, or promoting heretical teachings against the Catholic Church. The Lepanto Institute has compiled a comprehensive and detailed “Charity Reports” which lists all the organizations which receive money from the Catholic Church. If the parishioners in the pew only knew where their money was going to support, I am sure they would be shocked. Father Clay often told us how our generosity was going to help the plight of faithful Christians in the Philippines, or to the suffering of the poor immigrants in Mexico, or the little Indian children on the reservation. I am confident that he honored the purpose for which the collection was made and the intent of the donors. Could it be that Father Clay was more closely aligned with the Catholic social teachings of subsidiarity and solidarity for the local centralized church to first assist those in our immediate proximity and those who are in greatest need with our donations and acts of charity; first helping our neighbors at our door step and then aiding the universal Church in helping those around the world?

An article by Complicit Clergy titled: “Boycott Peter’s Pence Collection” dated June 19, 2021 states that “Although Peter’s Pence has been embroiled in scandal, U.S. Bishops intend to proceed with the collection the weekend of June 26 although the funds have been used to invest in highly speculative ventures, including Hollywood movies like “Rocketman” the biopic of Elton John and luxury rental property in London and a Cardinal in the Vatican was ousted due to his mishandling of millions of dollars in charitable contributions from Peter’s Pence”.

And speaking of misappropriation of funds closer to home: The Archdiocese received funds to provide for workers during the pandemic under the Paycheck Protection Program, yet several employees were dismissed by Father Jaime from St. Joseph and Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Why were they dismissed in the first place during the pandemic, specifically when there was money designated for their continued employment and where did the money intended for these employees go to?

While serving as pastor at St. Joseph Church Father Clay and the Catholic community in Del Rio had raised money to provide scholarships for students to attend Sacred Heart School whose parents were not able to afford the tuition. Students had received letters informing them that they were recipients of full tuition for one year, yet after Father Clay left Del Rio and Father Jaime had assumed responsibility of St. Joseph Church these scholarships were never made available to those students. Whatever happened to the monies raised by the Holy Smoke fund-raising project to provide grants for children to attend the only Catholic School in Del Rio and support Catholic education in our city? Why were they denied their rightful scholarship funds and where did the scholarship money intended for these deserving students go to?

What is the purpose of the travel trailer stationed at St. Joseph Church? Why does Father Jaime have two vehicles? How can it be that the pastor at St. Joseph Church lives in the lap of luxury while people were left without work and students were left without their scholarships?

The report makes this statement concerning Father Clay, but it could well be written about the Catholic Church, “being reformed, repair the scandal that he has caused and make appropriate restitution”. When will the Church be reformed in order to repair the scandal that it has caused and make appropriate restitution? Throughout the centuries whenever the institutional Church has veered off the narrow path, God has raised up saints to reform and renew His One, True, Catholic and Apostolic Church. During those tumultuous times those men and women we now call saints were punished, prosecuted and persecuted. Maybe those nine brave and courageous priests that were featured on the Church Militant video presentation will one day in the future be seen as the catalysts that brought about the much badly needed reform and renewal in the present-day Church.

The report concludes in a perfectly true and fitting statement about Father Clay, “that many of the faithful in the Archdiocese of San Antonio love and care deeply for Rev. Hunt”. And that is because the faithful sense when they are loved and cared for by a Good Shepherd that gives his all to his flock. Father Clay is not a 9 to 5 priest, he is a 24/7 priest. I have heard testimonies abound giving all the glory and honor to the power of God to bring about healing and conversion through Father Clay who is known to be a faithful priest who adheres to all the traditional and orthodox teachings of the Catholic Church.  According to Church Militant it was reported that “auxiliary bishop, Michael Boulette shortly after his installation, made the claim that there is no room for conservative priests in San Antonio”. So apparently it seems that Father Clay had to go.

The report “asks that those who care most for Rev. Hunt will encourage him to reengage the process that was given to him for his reform and work for the reparation of scandal and the restoration of justice”. This I ask of the Church leaders to look at themselves and take stock of what they have done and continue to do. What they see in Father Clay and say about him, we the faithful see in the Church leaders and say about them. When they convict Father Clay, we the faithful similarly convict them of the need for reforming and working for the reparation of the tremendous scandals they have caused and for the restoration of leading us to the true and faithful teachings of God. I pray that no scandal separate us from the Sacraments of the Church or from the Salvation of our Souls; that we not give in to despair or be devastated by the demonic enemy who seeks our eternal destruction. It is time for the people of God to rise up and reclaim our birthright from our Baptism. May we the laity do the heavy lifting of rebuilding and reforming the Church from within.

God bless Father Clay, who is a priest forever, and may the Church leaders through the grace of God restore his priestly faculties so that he may continue serving the people of God.

Marian Casillas, Ed.D.