[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1835-E1836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

HONORING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF ARCHBISHOP JOHN R. ROACH TO THE TWIN
CITIES OF MINNESOTA

______

HON. BRUCE F. VENTO

of minnesota

in the house of representatives

Monday, September 25, 1995

Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a fellow
Minnesotan and a friend who has made momentous contributions to my home
city of St. Paul, MN, and the entire Twin Cities area, Archbishop John
R. Roach. On September 8, 1995, Archbishop Roach's retirement from the
Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul became official and the Twin Cities
noted the service and invaluable leadership of one of their most
beloved citizens as he relinquished the post he has ably ministered for
over 20 years.
Even before he took on this challenging role as archbishop, he was
striving to strengthen the Twin Cities community by working to support
our most valuable resource, our children. His years teaching at St.
Thomas Academy and serving as headmaster of Mendota Heights Military
School formed a solid foundation from which he later served as chair of
the National Catholic Educational Association.
In addition to this role, Archbishop Roach led other groups which
involved him in a variety of issues within and outside of the Twin
Cities community. Archbishop Roach's leadership was especially
significant in the past decade as he served as president of the
National Conference of Catholic Bishops and the National Catholic Rural
Life Conference, and he chaired the U.S. Bishops' Food and Agriculture
Task Force. As the president of the National Conference during a key
point in the 1980's, Bishop Roach took on the role of spokesman for
strong statements concerning the curtailment of nuclear weapons and the
global buildup of such weapons. His efforts involved the crucible of
debate and moral teaching and renewed a successful effort, first among
the people and the Congress and finally with the administration, to
bring about massive reductions of nuclear weapons.

As chair of the International Policy Committee, Bishop Roach traveled
to other nations including Ireland, Israel, and South American nations
to promote peaceful solutions to the violence raging in these troubled
lands. Where there was a problem, he rose as a voice for social justice
and as a witness and teacher.
I have worked with Archbishop Roach and his administration on
numerous issues during his service to the church in the Twin Cities

[[Page E 1836]]
area. His sincere effort and interest in education, nuclear
disarmament, and especially the homeless and others in need in
Minnesota, and people of other nations merits the highest recognition
and gratitude. It is my honor to have worked with him and call him
friend and bishop. I'm certain that I voice the sentiments of the
entire Twin Cities community in wishing him a pleasant and healthy
well-earned retirement and thanking him for his efforts to support our
community. His presence at the helm of the Minneapolis-St. Paul
Archdiocese has been cherished as extraordinary and will be deeply
missed.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to add to the Record an article from
the Catholic Bulletin regarding Archbishop Roach.

[From the Catholic Bulletin]

The Archbishop We'll Miss

(By Bob Zyskowski)

The Archbishop John R. Roach we will miss as the leader of
the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is a brilliant
man who understood that life's journey back to God includes
ups and downs. But he refused to lose hope when he was in the
valleys. He sought God's help, then tapped humankind's
creative, God-given talents to climb the hills.
The Archbishop Roach we will miss as he begins his
retirement years took a can-do attitude against the
challenges of church and society. Presented with
difficulties, he took the view that God would not put any
obstacles in our way if that same God did not give us the
means to overcome them. Archbishop Roach's tools were
intellect, imagination and organizing, always organizing. Got
a need? Think about it, pray about it, get advice about it,
then put a structure in place to meet it.
The Archbishop Roach we will miss was the consummate
analyzer. Watching him at a council or commission or board
meeting was like poetry. He would hear the varied concerns
and opinions, then, like a poet, synthesize the data,
condense it and express a consensus of the voices that
focused on the vital points.
The Archbishop Roach we will miss had the critical concerns
of the key issues of the day on the tip of his tongue. Ask a
question and he would tick off the criteria Catholics need to
use to make a sound, morally based judgment, and, with those
principles as a base, he would explain why the church took
the position it did. On any issue. On every issue.
The Archbishop Roach we will miss was at his best when he
spoke or wrote from his gut. You could always tell when he
had a personal interest in a subject, when it meant something
more to him because he knew the impact or he knew the stakes
involved or if people in the Upper Midwest were affected.
Whether in a column for the Catholic Bulletin, in a homily
from the Cathedral pulpit or from the microphone at a meeting
of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, John R. Roach
was passionate when he believed in a course of action, in a
way to meet a need, in a principle to uphold. He used down-
to-earth language. He told the stories of how real-life
people were impacted. He came at it from the heart.
The Archbishop John R. Roach who went into retirement Sept.
8 has been a source of pride for this archdiocese. We hope he
will have many years in retirement to pass along his wisdom
and his love of a very good local church.

____________________