A Requiem Mass for Cardinal Cahal Daly was held today at Saint Peter's Cathedral, Belfast. Bishop Noel Treanor's homily is reproduced in full below the fold.

Cardinal Daly's remains now lie in state at St Peter's Cathedral, and mourners are invited to pay their respects from 9 am until 3pm tomorrow. They will arrive in St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh at 5.30 pm on Sunday, and will lie in state there ahead of the Requiem Mass at 12 noon on Tuesday, which will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Ulster Medium Wave.

Pope Benedict has sent this telegram to Cardinal Brady, the Arbishop of Armagh:

DEEPLY SADDENED TO LEARN OF THE DEATH OF CARDINAL CAHAL DALY, I OFFER HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES TO YOU AND YOUR AUXILIARY BISHOP, TO THE PRIESTS, RELIGIOUS AND LAY FAITHFUL OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF ARMAGH AND TO ALL THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND. I RECALL WITH GRATITUDE CARDINAL DALY'S LONG YEARS OF DEVOTED PASTORAL SERVICE TO THE CHURCH AS PRIEST, BISHOP AND PRIMATE OF ALL IRELAND, HIS ASSISTANCE AS A MEMBER OF THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS, AND ESPECIALLY HIS SUSTAINED EFFORTS IN THE PROMOTION OF JUSTICE AND PEACE IN NORTHERN IRELAND. IN COMMUNION WITH YOU IN THE HOLY SPIRIT I PRAY THAT, THROUGH THE GRACE OF CHRIST, GOD OUR MERCIFUL FATHER MAY GRANT HIM THE REWARD OF HIS LABOURS AND WELCOME HIS SOUL INTO THE JOY AND PEACE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. TO ALL GATHERED FAR THE SOLEMN RITES OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL AND ESPECIALLY TO CARDINAL DALY'S RELATIVES AND FRIENDS, I CORDIALLY IMPART MY APOSTOLIC BLESSING AS A PLEDGE OF CONSOLATION AND HOPE IN THE LORD.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

On tomorrow's Sunday Sequence, we will look back on Cardinal Daly's live, his commitment to peace in Ireland, his relationships with politicians and other church leaders, and his contributions as a theologican and philosopher. I'll be joined by his successor as Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Sean Brady, his former colleague and brother bishop Edward Daly, Presbyterian minister Dr John Dunlop, former Church of Ireland primate Lord Eames, historian Dr Eamon Phoenix and and former deputy First Minister Seamus Mallon.

We'll also have commentary on the religion and news stories likely to dominate the news agenda in the next twelve months from Ruth Gledhill of The Times, Patsy McGarry of the Irish Times, and Alf McCreary of the Belfast Telegraph. And we'll look at some of the major issues facing our society and our world at the turn of another decade with Victims Commissioner Brendan McAllister, social commentaror Elish Rooney and sustainability expert John Woods.

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Most of the published tributes to Cahal Daly focus on his work as a peace advocate, as a staunch opponent of physical force Republicanism, and as a campaigner for Christian unity.

My memories of Cardinal Daly are less political. I interviewed him a number of times on a variety of subjects and he was never more animated than when talking about philosophy, the subject he taught at Queen's University for many years. While Reader in Scholastic Philosophy, Cahal Daly served as a peritus (a theological adviser) at the Second Vatican Council. Other periti at the Council included Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), Hans Küng, and Karl Rahner.

The first time I heard Cahal Daly speak in person was a lecture he gave as part of a symposium on Wittgenstein at Queen's in the late 80s -- which effected a neoscholastic encounter between Aquinas and Wittgenstein if I recall correctly. His Moral Philosophy in Britain from Bradley to Wittgenstein, written in the late 60s but published in the 90s, still finds its way onto syllabi in the historiography of ethics. In retirement, he continued to write on philosophical topics, and gave the occasional lecture. He collected his unpublished philosophical papers, written over many decades, for publication, and became increasingly interested in environmental ethics. That interest produced a book, The Minding of Planet Earth, that made a case for a rapprochement between faith and science, and was regarded by many environmentalists as a thoughtful attempt to do theological justice to our present ecological crisis.

Obituaries: Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, Irish Times.

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We always knew Judge Yvonne Murphy's report into the handling of child abuse allegations in the Catholic archdiocese of Dublin over a period of nearly four decades was going to be shocking, but few could have predicted just how devastating its findings would prove to be.

The 700-page report details 320 children's allegations of rape, molestation and sexual assaults against a representative sample of 46 priests between 1975 and 2004. The commission found that one priest raped or molested more than 100 children, while another admitted abusing children every two weeks for more than 25 years. Astonishingly, when church officials, or the police, learned of abuse allegations, they failed or refused to investigate, and successive archbishops of Dublin were found to have a "Don't ask, don't tell" attitude to child abuse. Instead of rescuing and protecting children, church authorities covered-up abuse and shelved investigations in an effort to protect the image of the church.

Ironically, their efforts have left the reputation of the Irish Catholic Church in tatters. Following publication of the Murphy Report, Fr Michael Canny, the spokesman for the Derry diocese, told the Irish Times, "There is no good in saying other than the truth: the Church at this state has no credibility, no standing and no moral authority."

We would never have discovered the extent of the conspiracy exposed in the Murphy Report without the tireless hard work of those victims and survivors who pressed for a full investigation, over many years, against intense resistance and opposition.

Marie Collins and Andrew Madden, pictured at a press conference following the publication of the Murphy Report, are two of the most outspoken and courageous campaigners for truth and justice to have emerged in Ireland for many years. They have become the faces and the voices of so many others who experienced abuse and then further abuse at the hands of priests and those who protected those priests. Marie, who was abused in the 1960s by a chaplain in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, identified in the Murphy report as Fr Edmondus, says she now feels vindicated by the report after what has been a "long road" for her and other campaigners. Andrew's decision to go public about the abuse he suffered at the hands of Fr Ivan Payne precipitated Judge Murphy's investigation.

Their dignity in the face of stonewalling, deception and misrepresentation is breathtaking. One cannot imagine the emotional price they have paid because of their courageous determination to speak truth to power. And one can only stand in awe of their ability to speak the truth with such clarity and grace. Every Irish person concerned about truth, justice and the protection of the vulnerable owes them an enormous debt of gratitude.

The BBC Will & Testament people of the year title for 2009 goes to Andrew Madden and Marie Collins.

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