The Editor:

Remi De Roo died this Tuesday evening, Feb. 1st.

I think we all know how close he and Charles Brandt were…. 2 peas in a pod, in my view…. both great church activists of our age.

At about age 38 Remi De Roo was adopted into the Tsawout First Nation of the Saanich area very soon after he arrived as Bishop of Victoria in 1962, as the world’s youngest Catholic Bishop of that era. Remi said they gave him the name “White Swan”. I’ve also included a photo of an article, from that ceremony, though it is of poor quality.

A funeral mass is scheduled for Saturday Febuary 12th at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Victoria. The Eulogy will be given by Bishop De Roo’s close friend, Douglas Roche, who was a past Progressive Conservative MP, and later, Canada’s Ambassador for Disarmament to the United Nations where he became its Chair …. He is also a past Canadian Senator.

Remi De Roo was committed to move across the political spectrum and for many years he was Spiritual Advisor to Dave Barrett, the NDP Premier of BC from 1972-75. Of course Bishop De Roo was also well known in his standing up to power, both within the church and without…. standing up to the likes of business tycoon, Conrad Black and to Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau.

For many years Remi was head of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops Social Affairs Commission. During this time he took numerous fact-finding missions to war-torn areas of Latin America meeting with peasants, church leaders and government officials. This helped him in then speaking out on behalf of the poor.

Bishop Remi also gave direction and discourse for Canadian Christians in practicing the Social Gospel. He commissioned, co-wrote and helped publish in-depth documents and study guides like A Society to Be Transformed (1977), Ethical Reflections on the Economic Crises (1982), Do Justice: The Social Teachings of the Canadian Catholic Church (1987) and with books he wrote like Cries of Victims, Voice of God (1986) and, In the Eye of the Catholic Storm (1992) which he co-wrote with Douglas Roche and Mary Jo Leddy. He also worked closely with the Anglican and United Church Communities, and Remi was a founding member of the World Conference of Religions for Peace.

I received my First Confirmation from Bishop Remi in the mid 1960s in Courtenay. It was the same church that Fr. Charles was ordained as Hermit-Priest by Bishop Remi in 1965. One of the photos I’ve included was from a Labour Day event I attended at Cumberland Lake in the late 1980s, where Remi spoke up on behalf of workers rights. He was always challenging the status quo, much like Jesus during his day and age. Always defending the poor, the suffering and the oppressed, challenging the elite… “To come, follow me.”

Well done, good and faithful servant. Remi De Roo … b. Feb 24, 1924 – d. Feb 01, 2022.

In faith, peace and love,

Bruce Witzel, Port Alice, BC
On behalf of the Brandt Oyster River Hermitage Society

The Editor:

Bishop De Roo’s dying is a big loss to progressives. I’ve listened to both sides for years. It seems that in the “Tatler” and the “Spectator” written by Addison and Steele in England, he invented a character he named Sir Roger de Coverly who was like a judge listening to arguments. He made him say: “much can be said on both sides.”

So it all boils down to interpretation of texts. I still have a negative reaction to this but the future belongs to progressives. Pope John XXIII started it with Vatican II.

Thanks, Bishop De Roo

Franklin O’Connor, Nanaimo

The Editor:

Sorry I couldn’t make it to Remi’s celebration of life. A few people shared some moments from it, including Cardinal Czerny’s address. It really is the end of an era, and for families like mine and the Beaubiens – among many, many others – it has felt like a death in the family.

Here’s what I posted on Facebook on February 3, along with a link to an essay I wrote about him in 2013 (which I think you may have published).

“I don’t often have good things to say about Roman Catholic bishops, but Remi De Roo was always an exception. Vatican II’s last great champion, who passed away this week just shy of his 98th birthday, walked the talk of social justice and a more compassionate church, and he took a lot of heat for doing so.

“About a decade ago, when I was working on my book about Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict, I sat down for dinner with Remi to ask about his experiences with ‘God’s Rottweiler’. He didn’t want to be quoted or acknowledged in the book (the resulting aggravation would not have been worth it), but he did share many observations about his run-ins with the future pontiff, who more than once had summoned De Roo to the Vatican to defend his left-wing views, such as his support for the liberation theology movement in Latin America.

“‘The first time I was called on the carpet by Ratzinger’, he told me, ‘I was afraid. The second time, I was angry. The third time, I laughed.’ During one of these visits Remi, an expert at reading upside down, saw a letter on Ratzinger’s desk complaining about him. ‘Get rid of him,’ it said.

“In honour of the bishop whose idealism kept me in the Church far longer than I would have stayed otherwise, I’m reposting this blog entry from 2013. Rest in peace, Remi.”

Dan Gawthrop, New Westminster

The Editor:

Moments ago I received word from Bishop Jane about the death of Bishop Remi late last night. How much this dear man and prophetic leader has shaped for the better our Church especially in Canada. Without him all these years, I do not know what our Church would be today, as much as we continue the suffering, the incompleteness and struggle for reform. You have been such a support for so many years for Remi and his commitment to radical reform. Thank you.

One of my favorite memories of Remi was his arriving at Queen’s House back in the 1980s during the month of March to lead a workshop – with a big bundle of fresh flowers from the Island!!! Both beautiful and hope-filled – spring is coming for all of us.

Glenn Zimmer, OMI, Fort Quapelle Oblates House of Prayer, SK.