His Eminence Cardinal Cahal Daly was remembered for his environmental endeavours as well as his ecumenism and reconciliation efforts at the Requiem Mass held in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Armagh on 5th January.
In his homily, Cardinal Sean Brady said that “the best monument” to build in
Cardinal Daly’s memory would be “a reconciled, stable and sustainable future”.
He said, “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. 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.”
Cardinal Daly was remembered for the fact that, in his later years, he was prophetic in warning of the importance of renewing our Christian commitment to the Minding of Planet Earth – what he called “our fragile and precarious home”.
According to Cardinal Brady, “This was rooted in his early interest as a seminarian in Maynooth in the Social Doctrine of the Church. It was something that would continue to animate his ministry and preaching throughout his life. It found expression in one of his most notable and enduring contributions to the work of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, the pastoral letter entitled The Work of Justice. Here he played a central role, as he did in so many of the publications of the Conference, in anticipating many of the social and economic challenges which would come to confront Ireland in an era of unprecedented change.”
Cardinal Daly was “a prophetic, renewing and transforming figure” in a time of immense change in the history of this island. “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.
“Cardinal Cahal Daly was first and foremost a man of faith, a man of prayer, a man of God. He was consumed with the desire to know Jesus Christ, to embody his values and to make him known to others. He did this so that others might know the hope God’s call holds for them and for the whole world.
“One of the Cardinal’s favourite scripture verses comes from the Acts of the Apostles. He quotes it more than once in his autobiography. He said it often gave him inspiration in times of difficulty. He gave it place of honour on his 2007 Christmas Card, the year of his 90th birthday. In his last will and testament he has directed that it be inscribed on his headstone.
It goes like this: ‘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.’ (Acts 20:24).”
To read the full script of Cardinal Brady’s homily, see