Doug Roche, Edmonton

Toward the end of the day-long Symposium Feb. 24 marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bishop Remi De Roo, Pearl Gervais cited a paragraph from the bishop’s teachings that caught the essence of the man:

“It is becoming increasingly apparent to me that we cannot require that people live according to certain moral standards if we do not provide the conditions within which that sort of life is possible: where people have an opportunity to make truly moral choices. In other words, there is a relationship between oppression, justice, sheer frustration at the lack of minimal human standards, and moral issues like abortion, conjugal love, substance abuse, and so on. We have a responsibility to provide the kind of human support structures and community that allow people to live ‘moral’ lives…”

That paragraph begins to give us an understanding of the fullness of the teaching of Remi De Roo, who died Feb. 1, 2022. It is found on page 146 of the new book, Remi De Roo Pilgrim and Prophet: Wisdom for Today’s Church in the World (Novalis 2024), of which Pearl, who was the team teaching colleague of De Roo for many years, was the chief editor. The book was launched at the Symposium, sponsored by the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria. De Roo was instrumental in the founding of the Centre, and Paul Bramadat, director, spoke about the “unique ethos” at the Centre — thoroughly critical scholarship blended with a compassionate approach to community-building — that stems from the bishop’s initial vision.

The Symposium, attended by about a hundred people, heard engaging stories of Remi’s work for social justice and his own personality from a range of speakers: Marie Zarowny, Christine Jamieson, Michael McBane, Sue Rambow, David Szolossy, Diane Tolomeo, Bishop Logan McMenamie, Denise De Pape, Naz Rayani, Shauna Sylvester and Pat Jamieson. The acclaimed educator, author and lecturer Michael Higgins gave the keynote address that did not shy away from a recounting of the controversies in which Bishop De Roo found himself.

All of this, with video displays by Ray Painchaud, made for a vibrant day. Of course, it brought back memories of the visionary and graceful De Roo, who honoured everyone he met by actually listening to them. But the purpose of the day, and indeed the book, is not to take a journey down memory lane, but to reinvigorate ourselves with the dynamic teaching of the Second Vatican Council, of which there was no greater champion than Remi De Roo.

Remi called himself “a pilgrim of the Second Vatican Council,” as Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., noted in his Foreword to the book. De Roo embodied the essence of Vatican II by being a personal example of the Church as the People of God, and for calling for measures to build a peace sustained by social justice. In this work, he was also a prophet, one who proclaims the will of God and reads and discerns the signs of the times. Remi proclaimed the teachings of Vatican II as a source for living the Gospel. He told us who we are as Church and what the Church should be in the modern world. He lived and breathed the entire body of Vatican II teaching, reaching out to all humanity.

That is the reason he should be remembered. His work led him into controversies, not least with important personages within the hierarchy. He was not afraid to criticize the government’s economic policies as unjust toward working people, a stance that provoked protests from the economic barons of the day. He was misled by trusted associates in financial matters. The bishop was, indeed, controversial. What prophet isn’t?

De Roo needs to be seen in a historical perspective that is still to unfold. He cannot be measured in political terms as if he were just another ecclesiastic who outshone his peers. Some now seek to marginalize De Roo as but a loose cannon in the august Church of Rome. They would like his name edged off the cliff of history books.

Remi De Roo should be measured and historically evaluated not through the prism of controversies but the lens of the Sermon on the Mount. He was unrelenting in his passion for revealing the Christ within us and the Christ of a just and sustainable peace. He was a deeply spiritual person whose teaching is not consigned to a time period but a replenishing fountain for ongoing times.

Cardinal Czerny, in his Foreword, caught the sweep of De Roo’s work: his bonds of friendship with Indigenous peoples; his promotion of social justice at home and abroad; his openness to ecumenical dialogue and and interfaith collaboration; his encouraging lay people to become aware of their dignity as baptized persons; his promoting of the participation, role and status of women in the Church; his care for priests who left the ordained ministry.

Above all, De Roo’s insistence that an informed conscience should govern our actions is a lasting and ever more important value today, whether we are speaking of marriage, economic and social development, environmental protection, negotiations for peace, or the complete implementation of human rights.

Remi De Roo lives. Taking the Second Vatican Council forward, as Remi did, involves a conversion of heart and mind. That is what the Symposium was all about. And it is what the new book projects. Neither the Symposium nor the book should be considered one-off events. They are laying the foundation for a fuller historical examination of one of the great leaders in the history of the Catholic Church in Canada.

With Pearl Gervais, Douglas Roche is co-editor of Remi De Roo Pilgrim and Prophet: Wisdom for Today’s Church In the World (Novalis, 2004). He also was co-author with Bishop De Roo of Man to Man (Bruce, 1969) and In the Eye of the Catholic Storm (Collins, 1992).