Chapter V

FINAL YEARS: "CALLED TO BE AN INTIMATE FRIEND OF THE LORD"

    Bishop Anderson had incessantly worked to renew the church in his diocese and beyond. He finally realized that he had to take care of himself as well as serve others. Having long appreciated art, he began to take painting lessons from an accomplished artist, Sister Mary Charles McGough, O.S.B. Painting with water colors changed his life! He learned that painting helped him focus, relax and forget the burdens of his office. Moreover, art enabled him to be creative, something the structure of the church often did not.

    In fall 1982, a beaming Paul Anderson posed for a photographer with one of his paintings. The photograph, which appeared in OUTLOOK, was used in an announcement of his exhibit, "Simple Gifts" at the College of St. Scholastica. His art even helped the poor. Writing to Sister Mary Evelyn Jegen, Anderson mentioned that when the Damiano Center for the poor opened in Duluth, he had "painted a picture of San Damiano to be hung in the building. Someone suggested that we have prints made and perhaps offer them to people who would donate to the cause of helping the poor.... We have only had them for two days and already 700 dollars have come in from 7 separate donors. When I started this painting a few years ago, I never imagined that some day it would be put at the disposal of the poor."

    Though creative in art, Anderson found that heading a diocese was often not creative. Moreover, it prevented him from doing the pastoral work that he felt called to do. Always more of a pastor than an administrator, he was eager for a new more creative ministry--a ministry that was closely connected with Vatican II renewal. He wanted to spark spiritual growth that would lead to a change of heart and mind. The way to do this, he argued, was to work with priests who in turn would share spiritual values with parishioners. Believing that a bishop should not head a diocese for more than ten or twelve years, he hoped to conclude his service in Duluth and purse a new ministry in spiritual direction.
    In 1978 he discussed his intention to seek a new ministry with officials of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops in Rome. He learned that the Holy See expected bishops to administer their dioceses until age 75, unless suffering from significant health problems. Despite this negative response, Anderson, at the end of his tenth years in Duluth, requested permission to resign from the Duluth post and assume a new ministry. Permission was denied.

    He tried again in 1982, discussing his ideas for a new ministry with Archbishop John R. Roach, Metropolitan of the Province of St. Paul. The Duluth bishop hoped to work with Father Vincent Dwyer in the field of priestly renewal--leading retreats and serving as a spiritual director. When he listed possible assignments, he did include returning to the Diocese of Sioux Falls to assist Bishop Paul V. Dudley and serve as the diocesan Vicar for Spiritual Renewal. Though returning to Sioux Falls was not his top choice, it did appeal to church officials who thought that 65 was too young to retire from administration and preferred to keep him in the familiar structure.

    On August 17, 1982, Anderson held a press conference to announce his resignation as ordinary of the Diocese of Duluth. He made it clear that he was not retiring, but pursuing a new ministry and that he would continue to head the diocese as apostolic administrator until a new bishop was named.

    Anderson's 14 years of leadership was celebrated in October with a mass at Holy Rosary Cathedral and a dinner at the Duluth Arena-Auditorium. Given the bishop's close ties with the Jewish community, it was most appropriate that Isadore Crystal, a member of the Temple Israel Synagogue, gave the innovation. Monsignor Patrick McDowell, speaking what was in many hearts, addressed the bishop: "You have grown and you have given us a chance to grow. You have helped us to understand what it means to be a Catholic Christian in 1982." McDowell's remarks were indeed appropriate! Though many of Anderson's programs, especially in diocesan governance, have not endured, his deep faith, spirituality and commitment to the People of God vision of the church touched and changed many lives. His Vatican II renewal program had achieved its central purpose: it had fostered internal changes of heart and mind. Because of his efforts many developed a new sense of prayer and changed their attitudes about themselves and their role in the church.

    Paul Anderson, in his own gentle way, had sparked a spiritual revolution. As the bishop's brother Philip so accurately predicted: "Because so much of what we learn is hindsight, I rather suspect that many people in Duluth will suddenly realize who their bishop was after he has left them."

    The departing bishop handled public farewells with grace and charm, but his heart was heavy. Leaving Duluth proved far more difficult than he had ever imagined. He fretted about his new assignment: Would he be able to concentrate on spiritual direction or would he become mired in the duties of an auxiliary bishop? Moreover, as the time for departure drew near, he became more and more anxious about the impending separation from friends--friends he had laughed and cried with, friends who had provided emotional support, enriched his life, and sparked spiritual growth.

    In light of his anxieties, it was indeed fortunate that he was able to make a retreat in the summer of 1983. His retreat at the Avila Centre of Spiritual Renewal in Thunder Bay, Ontario prepared him to say goodbye to his life in Duluth. Thanks to the advice of his spiritual director and his own fervent prayer, the move to South Dakota became less and less traumatic as he realized that it was a homecoming--once again he would be serving with his two seminary classmates and friends, Monsignor John McEneaney and Father Leonard Stanton.

nbsp;   Extended reflection produced an important insight into his core goal as a bishop. Who were the Apostles, he asked? His answer was telling: they were the intimate friends of the Lord! If bishops were to be successors to the Apostles, they must be intimate friends of the Lord. Deep prayer was needed. With renewed energy and a sense of purpose he focused on his core goal: to become an intimate friend of the Lord!

    Once in South Dakota, he found that his duties as an auxiliary bishop--masses, confirmations, parish visits, ordination of deacons, and talks--occupied most of his time; the long distances between parishes made this important ministry especially time consuming. Although he had the title Vicar for Spiritual Renewal, Anderson was not able to focus on spiritual direction to the degree he wished.

    His hope for a nontraditional ministry did not fully materialize, but he was blessed with the beginnings of a Christian community. His warm personality and infectious spirituality drew people to the new St. Francis House, a cottage on the shores of Lake Kampeska, where guests could pray and heal. As always, Paul Anderson was a sympathetic, nonjudgmental spiritual advisor, but above all a friend.

    The South Dakota years also included one of the highlights of his life. In Advent 1985 he traveled to Central America to lead a two-and-a-half-week retreat for priests and sisters who staffed the mission in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala. Anderson was blessed with kindred spirits: his friend and spiritual advisor, Father Richard Rice, S.J., and a missionary from the Diocese of New Ulm, Minnesota, Monsignor Gregory T. Schaffer. Anderson's talks, infused with his positive attitude, stressed heartfelt themes--the People of God, the need to listen to the people and lay ministry.

    A learner as well as a teacher, Anderson was impressed with the materially poor, but spiritually rich Guatemalans. He thought that North Americans could learn a great deal from their culture with its stress on the extended family, cooperation and community. Lay catechists were vital to the success of the mission and reinforced Anderson's conviction that lay ministry was an effective instrument in spreading the Gospel.

    Despite his blessings, his final years were clouded. In October 1986 he wrote to Monsignor John Tracy Ellis, an eminent church historian, expressing his deep concern that the church was moving away from the spirit of Vatican II. In particular, Anderson was distressed by the controversy surrounding Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen of Seattle.

    Conservative Catholics, riled by change and turmoil, organized to protest what they regarded as destructive ideas and practices. They wrote letters to Rome denouncing reform minded bishops and theologians, who in their eyes had capitulated to modernity or even worse drifted into heresy. As historian Gerald P. Fogarty, S.J. explains a letter-writing campaign to church officials had "contributed to an apostolic visitation" of Hunthausen "and late in 1985, to the appointment of Donald Wuerl as auxiliary bishop with special faculties over certain aspects of the administration of the archdiocese. By the summer of 1986, the situation became so untenable that Hunthausen announced his inability to administer his diocese under such restrictions."

    Writing to John Tracy Ellis, Anderson stated that the controversy over Hunthausen must be a heavy burden for Ellis as he documented "the history of the Church for this day and age." He declared that it was "also a burden for someone like myself who became so caught up in the wonderful reform of Vatican Council II." Recalling happier days, he remembered when Archbishop Jean Jadot was named Apostolic Delegate. Jadot, a Belgian, who served from 1973 to 1980, was noted for his informal style and his efforts to promote episcopal candidates who were pastoral and collegial. Anderson noted that the Jadot era was such a promising time, "but now it seems that history has taken another turn." Out of favor in Rome, Jadot became the only delegate to the United States never to be created a cardinal. Anderson, with faith in the Holy Spirit, believed that things would change again and that the future held bright promise.

    Planning to retire at age 75, Anderson looked forward to living on Duluth's Park Point, where he would be close to nature, enjoy the company of friends and deepen his spiritual life. It was not to be.

    On December 31, 1986, suffering from prostate cancer, he underwent surgery at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota. After postoperative care, he was returned to his own room, where he greeted his sister Dorothy Antonucci and Bishop Dudley. He mentioned that he was in pain. To control the pain, a nurse gave him an injection of Demerol and he went into a deep sleep. Dorothy noticed that her brother was not breathing and summoned help. Although resuscitation returned his heartbeat and blood pressure, it was too late.

    Arriving in the afternoon, Sister Mary Charles was shocked to find the bishop on life-support and could tell that the doctors thought that he was brain dead. Sister Mary Charles, Bishop Dudley and Dorothy stayed with him praying, singing and touching. Others came: Monsignor John McEneaney, Donna Effinger, the bishop's brother Leo, with his wife Ellen and their sons Phil and Paul, Father Richard Rice, Father James Scheuer, Margaret Gates, and Pat Leib.

    With heartfelt emotion, Sister Mary Charles details the events of the bishop's last four days. His vital signs weakened several times and in the early morning hours of January 4, 1987, the Feast of the Epiphany, the 44th anniversary of his ordination, friends and relatives gathered to see him "off on the journey of new life." They prayed, shared memories and sang hymns. Mary Charles vividly describes the "gentle beauty" of the verses of "Kumbayah" which were "sung over and over, like a mantra." The community sang "'how we love him, Lord, Kumbayah.... Take him home, my Lord, take him home.'" Paul Francis Anderson died as he had lived, surrounded by a loving Christian community.

    On January 7, 1987, Paul Anderson's life and ministry were celebrated at a memorial mass in St. Joseph's Cathedral in Sioux Fall. In his homily, Father Leonard Stanton, a friend from seminary days, recalled the bishop's joy in living, story telling and his special gift of encouraging and healing. Stanton's well-drawn sketch identified an enduring trait: Paul Anderson was real--he never pretended to be someone other than who he really was.

    In Duluth the mass of Christian burial was celebrated on January 9 in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary. Archbishop John Roach, Bishop Robert Brom and Bishop Paul Dudley presided. Bishop Anderson was buried in a simple plywood coffin made by the Benedictine monks of Blue Cloud Abbey, Marvin, South Dakota. Blue Cloud held a special place in his heart since he felt the Holy Spirit had touched him there. He was buried in his plain "beat up" miter, which was so typical of his simple lifestyle and symbolic of his commitment to social justice for the poor. His "heavy-soled walking shoes" were fitting for a man who loved the outdoors and drew strength from nature.

    In his moving homily, Monsignor John McEneaney captured the essence of his seminary classmate, confidant and close friend. McEneaney's reflections, published in Sioux Falls' BISHOP'S BULLETIN, are a remarkable tribute to Anderson's life and ministry. He pointed out that Anderson loved life and the beauty of nature. The bishop's appreciation of beauty could also be seen in his gift for painting. He "captured some of the beautiful things he saw in God's creation."

    McEneaney emphasized one of Anderson's greatest gifts: the ability to be a true friend. When he was "a parish priest in South Dakota, his rectory was always a Mecca for his brother priests. People were welcomed, especially the lonely, the shy and the troubled." Later as a bishop his "residence was a marvelous house of hospitality--it was a place of refuge and renewal--it was a house of prayer--it was a home filled with love." The bishop "had an extraordinary gift for reaching out to people, touching them and making them feel accepted, bringing out the best in them." McEneaney reminded the congregation of Anderson "rare gift of making one feel as though he were the only one enjoying his full attention, and he had all the time in the world for you."

    Clearly, the Vatican II vision of the church as the People of God was central to Anderson's ministry and understanding of the church. McEneaney stressed that Anderson was open to the Holy Spirit and "caught the true sense of the renewal called for by the Fathers of the 2nd Vatican Council. He read widely and studied; above all, he prayed and with contagious enthusiasm and a fine sense of balance, he led his people to remarkable growth."

    McEneaney was right! Anderson had loved, prayed and led people to the realization of what Vatican II was all about--a change of heart and mind. His work on "Called and Gifted," the 1980 document on the laity, and his leadership in Duluth and Sioux Falls helped engender a new attitude toward the church and the role of laymen and women. The bishop, viewing the church as the People of God, believed that laymen and women ministered to each other and that lay ministry was central to renewal.

    In a powerful conclusion, McEneaney highlighted, Anderson's warm personality, enthusiasm for life, love of nature, and contagious faith in God. "If Bishop Paul could speak to us today in his charmingly relaxed way--after telling us a story--I suspect he would say something like this:

    "I've had a full and exciting life. I've loved my family, my friends, all the people whom I was called to serve, and have been blessed with their love. I delighted in the seashore and other treasures of my native New England, the great prairies of South Dakota, the woods and lakes of Minnesota. I thank God for my Catholic faith, for his Church, and for the gift of my priesthood and episcopacy.

    "My reluctance to leave these, and all of you in this life is [made] easier by the confidence that the new life will surpass it!

"SEE YOU THERE"