John Roach

John Robert Roach (July 31, 1921 – July 11, 2003) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis from 1975 to 1995. Appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese in 1971, he his later appointment as archbishop made him the first St. Paul archbishop to have been born in Minnesota. Roach delivered a benediction at Jimmy Carter's inauguration in 1977 and was head of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops from 1980 to 1983. In 1985, he was arrested for drunk driving after crashing into a convenience store; he would later admit to being an alcoholic. Roach was alleged by MPR News to have protected and reassigned a priest accused of molesting girls. Both MPR and the Star Tribune criticised his handling of cases of sexual abuse by clergy. He oversaw a major reorganization and renovation of the Saint Paul Seminary and its affiliation and merger with the University of St. Thomas. He retired at age 74 on September 5, 1995, succeeded by Harry Flynn. Roach died at age 81 on July 11, 2003.

Early life John Robert Roach was born on July 31, 1921, in Prior Lake, Minnesota, to Simon and Mary Roach. The eldest of three children, he had two younger sisters—Virginia and Mona. Growing up, he worked at the general store in Prior Lake owned by his father. He attended Shakopee High School for two years before transferring in his junior year to Nazareth Hall Preparatory Seminary. In 1941, he began at Saint Paul Seminary. Because of World War II, he was placed on an accelerated path to ordination and was ordained a priest on June 18, 1946, while 24 years old, by Archbishop John Gregory Murray.

Priesthood Roach was first assigned to the Church of Saint Stephen in Minneapolis. Only there for the summer, when the fall arrived he was assigned to Saint Thomas Academy where he served as an instructor of Latin and religion. He was named a monsignor in 1965.

Episcopacy Auxiliary bishop On July 12, 1971, at the age of 49, Roach was appointed titular bishop of Cenae and an auxiliary bishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis; he was consecrated on September 8, 1971, alongside Raymond Alphonse Lucker. Archbishop Luigi Raimondi was the primary consecrator. From 1971 to 1973, Roach served as pastor of St. Charles Borromeo parish in St. Anthony; from 1973 to 1975, he served as pastor of St. Cecilia in St. Paul.

Archbishop

Roach was appointed to succeed Leo Binz as Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis on May 21, 1975, and was installed on July 16, 1975. He was the first priest born in the archdiocese to be named the archbishop. Roach served as the president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) from 1980 to 1983. During his tenure, the NCCB strongly advocated for nuclear disarmament and economic justice. During the drafting process President Ronald Reagan involved himself, appealing to Holy See for a letter that would distance itself from the Nuclear Freeze campaign. Roach publicly complained about the interference. In addition to his time as NCCB president, Roach also served as chairman of the National Catholic Educational Association from 1986 to 1989, and president of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference.

At a Jewish-Christian interfaith event on May 13, 1977, Roach was giving an acceptance speech for an award when a man threw a chocolate-cream pie at Roach. The man, 22-year-old Patrick Schwartz, said he did so as a protest against the Catholic Church's views on homosexuality. George Casey, a Jesuit priest and former chaplain to a group for gay Catholics, had offered $20 to anyone who would hit Roach with a pie. In 1985, Roach founded a diocesan AIDS ministry, providing support to those with AIDS and their family members and providing anointing of the sick to those with the disease. The archdiocese also started a support group for gay and lesbian persons wishing to remain celibate.

Roach made national news when he was arrested for drunk driving on February 21, 1985, after driving his car into the wall of a Tom Thumb convenience store in Lindstrom, Minnesota. He was discovered to have a blood alcohol count of 0.19. His license was suspended for 90 days; during that time, he was limited to driving only for official clerical business between Tuesday and Sunday, and required to attend an alcohol education program. During a homily at a Mass before youth at World Youth Day 1993 in Denver, he admitted that he was an alcoholic; he received a standing ovation afterwards.

At the Saint Paul Seminary, Roach oversaw the 1987–1989 renovation of Saint Mary's Chapel, the demolition of the old administration building and construction of a new one, as well as construction of new dormitories. In one case, Roach was alleged by MPR News to have protected and reassigned a priest accused of raping girls.

On February 22, 1994, Harry Flynn, the Bishop of Lafayette, Louisiana, was appointed coadjutor bishop and became the presumptive successor of Roach. On September 5, 1995, Roach's retirement was accepted. While Roach was 74, a year younger than the normal retirement age, he said that he considered Flynn ready to take over.

Retirement and death

When he retired, Roach stated that he intended to do mission work in local parishes and work on a project with the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to evaluate Catholic social teaching in Catholic schools. He moved into the same apartment at Saint Thomas Academy that he had lived in when he taught there.

Roach died of heart failure on July 11, 2003, at the Little Sisters of the Poor home in St. Paul at the age of 81. Over 2,500 attended his funeral at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, including 300 priests and 15 bishops. The sermon was given by Bishop John Kinney. Roach was buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights.