Claude Ryan, 1925-2004.

Montreal -- On February 9, 2004, Claude Ryan died in Montreal of stomach cancer at the age of 79. He was known as a newspaper editor, a politician, and a Catholic intellectual--a man of such deep faith that Cardinal Archbishop Turcotte of Montreal wrote an obituary of him which was published in the Globe and Mail.

In another obituary in the Globe, Graham Fraser pointed out that Ryan grew up in poverty, since his father had abandoned his family, and it was from his mother that he derived his central beliefs, especially the need to have strong principles and follow them. When he was 20, because of his deep faith, he was appointed president of the Quebec branch of Catholic Action, a movement designed to lead Catholics into taking a role in the affairs of state.

Ryan thus became one of the young intellectuals who were going to bring about the transformation of Quebec society through the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s. He did not, however, become anti-clerical like many of his contemporaries; rather he advocated cooperation between the clergy and the laity, with the laity playing a much greater role in the Church than it had in the past.

In 1972, he was asked to become the editor of Le Devoir, the influential Quebec daily paper, and for it he wrote lengthy, carefully reasoned editorials which no literate person could ignore. Quebec writer Rheal Seguin says he was the conscience of the province for the next fifteen years; he was sometimes called "the Pope of Ste Sacrement Street" (the address of Le Devoir).

He was a Quebec nationalist who was also a Canadian federalist; when the country seemed on the brink of separation, he fought for Canadian unity, leading the "No" forces which defeated Rene Levesque's separatists in the 1980 referendum. But Levesque won the next provincial election, and Ryan was happy to retire from the Liberal leadership. Robert Bourassa, who became leader again and eventually premier, persuaded him to stay in politics and he held several cabinet posts. As the National Post said of him, few politicians could have spent as much time in public life as he did, and left it with their integrity intact. Turcotte wrote, ... "I must add my voice to all who saw him as a politician of unimpeachable intellectual honesty and morality."

At his funeral Mass in Montreal's beautiful Notre Dame Basilica on February 13, the large crowd of mourners was led by Ryan's three sons and two daughters, his wife Madeleine having predeceased him. Among the dignitaries in attendance were Prime Minister Martin, Quebec premier Jean Charest, four previous Quebec premiers, and three from Ontario. Cardinal Turcotte was the chief celebrant, and in his eulogy he said that Ryan exemplified Christian values of devotion, reflection, and generosity, and that he remained faithful to his deepest convictions, faithful to his family, to the Church, to his province and to his country.

The last word, however, went to Ryan himself. His son Andre read a message written by his father shortly before his death. It emphasized that it is in Quebec's best interest to pursue its destiny within Canada. "The federal framework," he said, "seems to me more propitious for the development of the values of freedom and mutual respect without which our linguistic duality and cultural diversity, which characterizes Canada, and to a growing extent Quebec, could not endure and flourish." He also suggested that the goals Quebec sought could be achieved sooner if other Canadians accepted Quebec's aspirations.

Premier Charest, the only politician to speak, hailed Ryan as a founder of Quebec's contemporary identity and a model of selfless public service. "Mr. Ryan preached by example," he said. "Claude Ryan is not extinguished. He is a beacon that will shine on Quebec for a long time."

As for his Catholicity, Ryan was not always in harmony with the Church. On the issue of abortion, for example, he held that sometimes an exception could be made in serious situations. Again, in his latest evaluation of the Church's stand against same-sex "marriage", he indicated--although he did not go into details--that the Vatican documents were not above criticism. In brief, on some very important moral issues, Ryan was not in the forefront of defenders battling a ruthless secularism.

After his departure from Le Devoir, that daily turned vehemently anti-Catholic. May he rest in peace.