Suspended priest starts own church

The Catholic church is out of touch with its members, one attendee said.
SEWICKLEY, Pa. (AP) -- Celebrating Mass for the first time at his unsanctioned splinter church, the Rev. Bill Hausen urged some 300 people Sunday to stop procrastinating before they "die without really having lived."
Diocesan officials say Christ Hope Ecumenical Catholic Church is the first priest-led splinter group they can recall in the six-county diocese, which counts more than 810,000 Roman Catholics.
Hausen decided to start the church after he was transferred by the Pittsburgh Roman Catholic Diocese when he told parishioners during a 2002 Easter service that they should be angry about the clergy sex scandal and that married men and women should be able to become priests.
"I've had a lot of problems with the hypocrisy of the church, the blind obedience, and that day is over for me," Hausen said after his first service.
While it's possible for the church to take steps that would formally excommunicate Hausen, church officials said they're still hoping to bring him back.
"It's a sad time for us, of course, because there's been a division in our family," said the Rev. Ronald Lengwin, a spokesman for the diocese. "The church always lives with the hope of reconciliation with Father Hausen."
Hausen, who wore a white embroidered vestment donated by supporters, said he wanted to reach disillusioned and disenfranchised believers, using much of what he has learned as a recovering alcoholic.
Supporters
Mass was held inside a conference room at the Sewickley Country Inn, about 12 miles northwest of downtown Pittsburgh. Among those in attendance was a group of about 20 people who drove 45 minutes from a Unitarian church in Slippery Rock to show their support.
Marie Richards, 53, a member of St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Moon Township, said the leadership of the Catholic church has fallen out of touch with its members and has failed to provide the spiritual support many seek in today's stressful times.
"I think they've got to look at how many people came because there are a lot of people, like myself, that are feeling let down," Richards said. "I really think they have to see that people need more than just going through a bunch of words on Sundays. There are people that are really wanting something to get through the week."
Richards applauded Hausen's plans to hold Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, along with bible studies and emotional support programs. She said she plans to attend a few more times before she decides whether to join Christ Hope.
Going it alone
Hausen was suspended from active ministry in October, which coincided with his latest, and so-far successful, attempt to remain sober after 10 years of drinking.
Hausen has used savings and proceeds from real estate to pay for starting up his church. The small hotel-banquet facility in one of Pittsburgh's more genteel suburbs is near St. James Parish, where he gave his Easter homily two years ago.
Virginia Walker followed Hausen from St. James Parish and now serves on Christ Hope's church council. The Sewickley resident said she agrees with Hausen and said he has guided her through the loss of her husband, mother and a sister.
"I don't feel like it's anything wrong [what he's doing]," Walker said.
While the church is operating week by week, ordaining married men and woman is on the church agenda, Hausen said.
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