Guy-Marie Riobé

Guy-Marie Riobé (born April 25, 1911 in Rennes , † July 18, 1978 in Le Grau-du-Roi ) was a French Roman Catholic bishop.

life and work

Diocesan priest

Guy Riobé grew up as the second of six children in a middle-class family, first in Rennes and from 1923 in Angers . In 1929 he entered the seminary there, where Louis Rétif (1911–1985) was one of his friends. After his ordination in 1935 he was a chaplain in Saint-Florent-le-Vieil , from where he preferred to retire to the Bellefontaine monastery , to whose abbot, Gabriel Sortais , he was close. From 1938 he was in the management of the diocesan youth work. From 1943 he was one of the Sacred Heart Priests founded by the Jesuit Pierre-Joseph de Clorivière (1735-1820).

The first repentance

In 1945, Riobé, who had grown up in a Jansenist atmosphere, met the Jesuit Prosper Monier (1886–1977), who triggered an inner return to Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount . From 1950 he was also shaped by the striking figure of his bishop, Henri Chappoulie (1901–1959), a supporter of the Pax Christi movement, who stood up firmly for the socially disadvantaged and the workers and who elected him in 1951 as vicar general . As such, Riobé experienced the experiment of the worker priests until they were banned in 1954 (and finally in 1959). Under the influence of Bishop Chappoulie, he opened up to the questions of colonialism . He joined the Little Brothers of Jesus under René Voillaume and Pierre Cimetière (1896–1969), as well as the Fraternity Jesus Caritas . In Germany, Georg Hüssler (1921–2013), who later became President of Caritas International , became his conversation partner and friend. He traveled to Africa and South America to meet the priests and bishops of the Third World, whose often Jesuan simplicity touched him passionately. Helder Camara was one of his friends in South America .

Bishop of Orléans. First phase

In 1961 Riobé was appointed Bishop of Orléans (first coadjutor, effective from 1963) and took part as such in the Second Vatican Council (especially in the Mission Commission). As a member of a bishop's brotherhood, which also included Julius Angerhausen and Hugo Aufderbeck , he was one of the initiators of the Catacomb Pact (self-commitment of the bishops to a simple lifestyle and service to the poor). Riobé fought against the image of the bishop ( denounced by his friend Ivan Illich ) as a dignitary and a functioning member of a bureaucratic apparatus.

Bishop of Orléans. Second phase. The second reversal

In 1969 Riobé decided to commit himself to his Jesuan ideals even as a bishop, regardless of his person. He appeared at the side of conscientious objectors in their trial as a witness, criticized the nuclear armament of France and turned against the sale of French weapons to undemocratic states. He fought against the Orléans rumor . On the side of Helder Camara, he criticized the Un-Jesuan structures of part of the South American Church. He advocated the ordination of married people (but not the marriage of priests) and spoke out against the merciless condemnation of any abortion. Through these statements he became a kind of star against his will in the French public, but became increasingly isolated in the college of bishops. In 1975 he made Pope Paul VI. an initial offer of withdrawal that was rejected. He did not therefore hold on to himself, but continued his policy of the prophetic word. He said, for example: "As long as the capitalist system continues, it is not possible to live in accordance with the gospel." (1975) or: "Only a poor church can set free the energies of the gospel." (1976) and: "It is not the youth that stand Church far away, but the church is far away from the youth. ”(1977). In 1977 he felt struck by indirect criticism from the Pope and offered his resignation a second time, which was again rejected.

The tragic end

Riobé suffered increasingly from his predicament as a prophet of the gospel ostracized by the Church. He interpreted it with the French proverb: "Qui veut noyer son chien, l'accuse de la rage" (literally: If you want to drown your dog, you think it is rabies). On Tuesday, July 18, 1978, he was alone and incognito in a friend's beach house in Le Grau-du-Roi . At 8:30 p.m. he was pulled out of the water dead and naked by a fisherman, but was not identified until Monday, July 24th. There are only guesses as to the circumstances surrounding his death. The most obvious is a heart attack while swimming. His successor, Jean-Marie Lustiger , will not mention his predecessor's name at the episcopal ordination.

Works (selection)

• La liberté du Christ. Entretiens avec Olivier Clément . Stock / Cerf, Paris 1974.
• Discussion about the priest. Letters to Bishop Riobé . Müller, Salzburg 1974.

Posthumously

• La passion de l'Évangile . Cerf, Paris 1978.
• Les fêtes et la vie . Cerf, Paris 1979.
• Projet d'Église. Une église libre qui ose . Cerf, Paris 1979.

Literature (selection)

• Jean-François Six (* 1929): Guy-Marie Riobé. Evêque et Prophète . Seuil, Paris 1982.
• Christianisme, humanisme? Quand le passé et le futur s'entrecroisent. 25e anniversaire de la mort de Guy-Marie Riobé, évêque d'Orléans de 1963 à 1978. Actes du colloque organisé à l'initiative de l'Association des amis du père Riobé, le 7 février 2004 à Orléans . Orléans 2006.

Web links

• Literature by and about Guy-Marie Riobé in the SUDOC catalog (Association of French University Libraries)
• Website of the Friends of Guy-Marie Riobés, French

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Six 1982, p. 431
2. ↑ Six 1982, p. 453
3. ↑ Six 1982, p. 502
4. ^ Six 1982, p. 550