Remy Denis
{{short description|Indian mathematician|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix =
|name = Remy Denis
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|office2 = President, All India Catholic Union
|term_start2 = 2008
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|predecessor2 = John Dayal
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|profession = Professor of Mathematics
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Remy Denis is an Indian mathematician who was elected president of the All India Catholic Union (AICU) in September 2008, succeeding John Dayal.{{cite web
|url = http://aicuindia.org/officebearers.html
|title = Current Office Bearers
|publisher = All India Catholic Union
|accessdate = 2012-04-16
|url-status = dead
|archiveurl = https://archive.today/20121220120901/http://aicuindia.org/officebearers.html
|archivedate = 20 December 2012
|df = dmy-all
}}
He was reelected at the annual general meeting of the AICU held in Mangalore in September 2010.
Denis was a professor in the Department of Mathematics at Gorakhpur University in Uttar Pradesh.{{cite web|url=https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?newsID=147514|title=Kolkata: Catholic Union Expresses Solidarity with North-Eastern States|date=23 August 2012|publisher=All India Catholic Union|via=Daijiworld}}
In the 1980s, Denis was a member of the Uttar Pradesh Minorities Commission.{{cite book
|title=National Council of Churches review |volume=109 |page=102
|publisher=National Christian Council of India |year=1989}}
Denis has taken a somewhat radical position in saying that the clergy should confine itself to ministering to the spiritual needs of the people.
Administration of the material goods of the church should be left entirely to the laity.{{cite web
|url = http://www.cbcisite.com/cbcinews4092.htm
|work = Catholic Bishops' Conference of India
|title = Modern Pastoral Challenges
|date = 3 November 2009
|author = Averthanus L. D’Souza
|accessdate = 2012-04-08
|url-status = usurped
|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20100305172834/http://www.cbcisite.com/cbcinews4092.htm
|archivedate = 5 March 2010
|df = dmy-all
}}
At a seminar in Goa in August 2009, former Union minister Eduardo Faleiro said that church property should be brought under the ambit of state laws, as was the case with other religions. This was endorsed by Denis and other liberals. However John Dayal, representing the conservatives in the AICU, opposed any change.
He said that the "Christian situation" was radically and materially different from that of the Hindu, Muslim and Sikh religions, and existing laws were sufficient.{{cite web
|url=http://www.deccanherald.com/content/17952/conservatives-oppose-call-church-assets.html
|title=Conservatives oppose call for Church assets reforms
|author=Devika Sequeira
|work=Deccan Herald
|date=5 Aug 2009
|accessdate=2012-04-08}}
In February 2012 the AICU announced that it had started planning for a Laity Synod, to be held later in the year. This would be the first time such an event had been arranged in India. It would give the lay members an opportunity to think about their role in the church and the future of the church.{{cite web
|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-05/goa/31026404_1_church-vatican-faith
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103080614/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-05/goa/31026404_1_church-vatican-faith
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=3 January 2013
|title=Catholic Union to announce dates of first Laity Synod soon
|date=5 February 2012
|work=The Times of India
|accessdate=2012-03-05}}
According to Denis "The Second Vatican Council called for the empowerment of the laity. But after 50 years, there is not much to show".
It was hoped that the synod would help find ways for the laity to become more involved in management of the financial and temporal affairs of the church.
{{cite web
|url=http://www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/other/news-items/archive/2011/05/article/indias-catholics-plan-first-synod-for-lay-people-9780//abp/167.html
|work=Anglican Journal
|title=India's Catholics plan first synod for lay people
|author=ANTO AKKARA
|date=24 May 2011
|accessdate=2012-04-08
|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130117165709/http://www.anglicanjournal.com/nc/other/news-items/archive/2011/05/article/indias-catholics-plan-first-synod-for-lay-people-9780//abp/167.html
|archive-date=17 January 2013
|url-status=dead
}}