Raymond Roussin

Raymond O. Roussin was a Canadian prelate who served as the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver from 2004 to January 2009, when his resignation was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI.

Curriculum vitae Roussin was born on June 17, 1939, in St. Boniface, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Consecration In 1995, Roussin was appointed by Pope John Paul II as Bishop of Gravelbourg and in 1999, as Bishop of Victoria. Raymond Roussin was appointed Archbishop of Vancouver on January 10, 2004.

Roussin served as Vice President of the Assembly of Western Catholic Bishops and on the CCCB Permanent Council (1997-1999), as well as a member of the former Commission for Christian Education of the French Sector (1995-1999) and of its former Commission for Liturgy (1999-2003). He was also the CCCB liaison Bishop with Canadian Catholic Campus Ministry. In 1999, he was named by Pope John Paul II to participate in the European Synod of Bishops in Rome.

Legacy Due to the declining Catholic population in the Diocese of Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan, Roussin was entrusted with dissolving the Diocese in 1995. On September 14, 1998, the Diocese reverted to the Archdiocese of Regina and the Diocese of Saskatoon.

In 1998, Roussin became Bishop of Victoria in British Columbia. Because earlier questionable investments left the Diocese in financial trouble, Raymond Roussin reorganized its finances by selling off unused property and brought the situation under control. The call was for Catholics & non-Catholics to divest from Telus Mobility and to write to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to stop downloading of pornography onto cell phones. Roussin's call, whose story drew the attention of The New York Times and Bloomberg News, was key to Telus dropping its adult content offerings.

On July 7, 2008, James Wingle, Bishop of St. Catharines, and Roussin spoke out strongly against the decision to grant Dr. Henry Morgentaler the Order of Canada, and called for this award to be revoked.

On September 5, 2008, Roussin asked for support of Bill C-484, which would help protect the unborn as victims of crime. Presently, if a pregnant woman is attacked, and her unborn child is killed, the attacker is not charged with the murder of the child.

On January 2, 2009, he was succeeded by J. Michael Miller. Miller also succeeded Roussin as Grand Prior of the Canada-Vancouver Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

On April 24, 2015, he died in Winnipeg.