LETTER FROM CARDINAL GEORGE, ARCHBISHOP OF CHICAGO
ANSWERING QUESTIONS ABOUT HABISOHN'S THEOLOGY
AND HIS ADVISE TO WOMAN WITH MARITAL TROUBLE
(actual scanned documents page1 134K, page2 34K)

Archdiocese of Chicago
Office of the Archbishop
Post Office Box 1979
Chicago, Illinois 60690
312-751-8230

January 16, 2004

Dear Mr.  (name has been removed)

    I write in response to your letter of December 5, 2003, in which you express concerns about a Mr. Steve Habisohn, who resides in the Archdiocese of Chicago, and his "e5" men's movement. In order to answer as accurately as possible your specific questions about Chapter 5 of St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians, and Mr. Habisohn's interpretation of this text, I consulted with Rev. John G. Lodge, the Ecclesiastical Dean of our major seminary in Mundelein. Fr. Lodge is a well-respected scholar who has served for many years as a Professor of Sacred Scripture at Mundelein Seminary and specializes in the New Testament, particularly the Pauline Epistles. Since the replies he sent me are so clear and thorough, I have attached a copy for your reference.

    You may note that Fr. Lodge recommends the Holy Father's 1988 Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem (The Dignity of Women) as a resource for understanding Chapter 5 of the Letter to the Ephesians. This document should be available at any good Catholic bookstore that sells reprints of papal documents. The Rill text is also available on the Vatican's website at:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_15081988_mulieris-dignitatem_en.html  
Sections 23 through 25 of Mulieris Dignitatem most specifically address Ephesians 5.

    In his response to Question 4, Fr. Lodge offers a caveat that is often repeated about the Internet and that I emphasize once again. Anyone can post information on the Internet - without any license or check for accuracy. This applies to interpretations of Scripture and to information about Church teaching as much as it applies to products that are advertised for sale. I am glad that you are asking about Mr. Habisohn's ideas, since the fact that they are being communicated over the Internet give's them no special credibility.

    Your letter was referred to me by Mrs. Else Radtke of our Family Ministries office, who has also spoken with the wife of the friend to whom you refer in this letter. I  am very sorry to hear that a Catholic who claims to follow Mr. Habisohn's way of living is now in the process of seeking a divorce from his spouse. I believe that the Holy Father's commentary on Ephesians 5 makes it very clear that St. Paul's intention was to draw husbands and wives closer to one another and to Christ in his Church, not to drive them apart. In this case, the harm done to spouse and children by divorce is far greater than any damage that could be done by a disagreement over a passage of Sacred Scripture.

    Mr. and Mrs. thank you for writing. I will remember you and your friends in prayer, and I ask that you pray for me as well. May God bless you.

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Chicago

cc:     Rev. John G. Lodge
         Mrs. Else Radtke