Vatican II: Last surviving bishop, "radical" Remi De Roo, speaks in Vancouver
Douglas Todd
Note: Not an endorsemement
Bishop Remi De Roo, 92, is the last surviving bishop of all sessions of Vatican II. Even though he's smiling in this photo with Pope John Paul, the two had a confrontation over the principles of Vatican II. De Roo speaks Thursday evening on the UBC campus.
This is how retired radical Vancouver Island Bishop Remi De Roo, 92, is being described by St. Mark’s College on the UBC campus, which is hosting his talk Thursday evening:
“Bishop Remi J. De Roo is the last surviving bishop to have participated in all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council, which spanned 1962 to 1965.”
“A self-described “pilgrim” of the Council in the years since its closing, he has kept alive its goal of aggiornamento – the renewal of the Church as it relates with the world.”
This is to say the least.
Well-travelled De Roo has taken his lumps for championing the reforms and ecumenicism of Vatican II, including from Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict. Both suppressed many of the progressive ideals of Vatican II.
De Roo, who remains active, is much more in tune with the latest pope, Francis, who seems to have a more open, less-doctrinaire and more progressive streak (while staying true to core church traditions).
De Roo will speak Thursday, Sept. 15 at 7:00 pm at St. Mark’s College, 5935 Iona Dr., Vancouver, UBC. The event is free, but registration is strongly recommended. Go here.
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Here’s an excerpt from a piece I wrote in 2012 on De Roo’s autobiography:
… Within Catholicism, the jury is out on whether Vatican II has achieved its goals. Many believe the reforming movement De Roo took part in building has been resisted by popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
But De Roo, the world’s youngest Catholic bishop when he was appointed in 1962, is determined to keep talking about the ecumenical spirit of Vatican II “to whoever will listen.”
Even though De Roo’s autobiography is gracious and tempered, the advocate for married male Catholic priests, and for consideration of females as clergy, is candid about his unfortunate exchanges with John Paul and then-cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
… It was De Roo’s commitment to truth, as he saw it, that led to his initial conflict with Ratzinger. The exchange occurred in 1986 after De Roo had spoken at a U.S. conference about the need for a dialogue over ordaining women to the priesthood.
Ratzinger, in charge of maintaining doctrinal conformity, called De Roo to Rome to admonish him.
“This was not to be a joyous encounter,” De Roo recalls. “I was not alone in finding it galling to be treated like an errant schoolboy.”
The same chapter describes a lunchtime conversation De Roo tried to have with Pope John Paul in 1994 over the benefits of ordaining married clergy.
With other bishops present, De Roo raised the sensitive topic in both English and French. But John Paul turned and glared at him.
“{John Paul} then banged deliberately on the table with
his right fist holding the knife handle. In a loud and emphatic tone of
voice he declared, ‘Deus providebit!’ (God will provide!) That was,
sadly, the end of the exchange.“This was not to be a joyous encounter,” De Roo recalls. “I was not alone in finding it galling to be treated like an errant schoolboy.”
The same chapter describes a lunchtime conversation De Roo tried to have with Pope John Paul in 1994 over the benefits of ordaining married clergy.
With other bishops present, De Roo raised the sensitive topic in both English and French. But John Paul turned and glared at him.
“My heart sank as I looked at the other bishops and noted that not one of them dared to pick up on the issue …. So much for dialogue!”
Here is an excerpt from the introduction to De Roo and his Vatican II legacy from St. Mark’s College:
As a Canadian Father of the Council, Bishop Remi De Roo experienced the sparking of this flame firsthand.
A self-described “pilgrim” of the Council in the years since its closing, he has kept alive its goal of aggiornamento or the renewal of the Church as it relates with the world.
Sharing Pope Francis’ understanding that ‘the Church is not an organization born out of an agreement between some persons” but “the work of God, born out of his desire to bring all mankind to himself, Bishop De Roo’s reflections on the Council “Past, Present and Future” will help us to know its fruits with new eyes, ears and hearts.
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