SERMON:CARDINAL CAHAL Daly was "a prophetic, renewing and transforming figure in a time of immense change in the history of this island", Cardinal Seán Brady said in St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh, yesterday.
Chief celebrant at the requiem Mass for Cardinal Daly, he continued: “But his mission would be misunderstood, his legacy misrepresented if it focused solely, or indeed principally, on the social and political aspects of his work.
“Cahal Daly was first and foremost a man of faith, a man of prayer, a man of God.”
Cardinal Brady disclosed that Cardinal Daly had, “in his last will and testament”, directed that favourite words of his from the Acts of the Apostles be inscribed on his headstone. They read: Life to me is not a thing to waste words on, provided that, when I finish my race, I shall have carried out the mission the Lord Jesus gave me – and that was to bear witness to the Good News of God’s grace.
Cardinal Brady said: “In so many ways Cardinal Daly was ahead of his time. As early as 1973 he was working with other Christian leaders in the search for peace. A report which they prepared at that time set out principles for a non-violent way forward for the divided communities of Northern Ireland.
“Today its language bears a remarkable similarity to that of political agreements we have now. Cardinal Daly remained adamant always that justice, mutual respect and purely peaceful means were the only way forward. It was a source of considerable satisfaction for him later to see politicians take courageous risks for peace.
“Our task today is to continue along the path of mercy and to tackle all remnants of sectarianism in our midst.”
Cardinal Brady continued: “We are here today to pay our respects to a disciple of Christ who worked and prayed tirelessly for mutual understanding, peace and reconciliation. His support for the noble vocation of politics is well known.
“Today, at the beginning of a new year, we renew our encouragement to those who serve the public good in the political arena.
“The hopes and dreams of so many depend on you. Remain steadfast in the search for a brighter future for all. Remember the distance you have already travelled together.”
He advised: “Continue to work together to address social, economic and environmental challenges and thereby create the kind of country which Cardinal Daly and so many others yearned to see. I am certain that a reconciled, stable and sustainable future would be the best monument you could build to his memory.”
Referring to clergy from other Christian traditions present on the altar, Cardinal Brady said: “What a consolation it is to welcome so many representatives from other Christian traditions here today.
“Your faith and friendship played an immense part in the development of Cardinal Daly’s own faith and ministry. From his earliest days in Loughguile he sought to understand the proud, confident tradition of his Protestant neighbours. He knew instinctively that those who treasured the Word of God with such love and devotion, who professed Jesus Christ as Saviour with such conviction, shared a bond with Catholics that went much deeper than politics or nation.”
He said Cardinal Daly “never tired of reminding Catholics that ‘one cannot be authentically Christian or Catholic without the ecumenical spirit’. To be bound by the common bond of Baptism, he used to say, is to be related to a fellow Christian as sister and brother.”
On challenges facing “the pilgrim church in Ireland”, he said “Cardinal Daly would have been well aware that the next steps on that pilgrim journey for the Catholic Church in Ireland will be among the most critical and most challenging of its history.
“The abuse of children and its shameful mismanagement by those charged by God to protect his ‘little ones’ have wrought such damage on those who were abused. It has caused such justified anger and outrage on the part of the faithful and damaged trust so profoundly in the integrity of the leaders of the church.”