Bishop Edward Daly, former Bishop of Derry and civil rights protester during the Troubles, died this morning aged 82.
Bishop Daly served as Bishop of Derry from 1974 to 1994, until he retired due to serious illness. He appears in an iconic photograph of the Bloody Sunday Massacre in 1972, waving a bloodstained white handkerchief as he escorts a group trying to carry 17-year-old Jackie Duddy to safety. Mr Duddy became the first of the massacre’s fourteen fatalities, half of whom were teenagers. Bishop Daly, then Fr Daly, anointed him.
In a review of Bishop Daly’s 2011 memoir 'A Troubled See', Bishop Richard Clarke, now the Anglican Primate of All Ireland, wrote “although unapologetically nationalist in his sympathies, Edward Daly was and is equally vehement and unequivocal in his abhorrence of all violence, from wherever the violence may emanate. Indeed he showed considerable courage and moral consistency in never deviating from this stance of opposition to violence, even momentarily.”
At the time of its publication, the memoir drew attention because of Bishop Daly’s brief comments within it about clerical celibacy. Bishop Daly wrote, “there is certainly an important and enduring place for celibate priesthood. But I believe that there should also be a place in the modern Catholic Church for married priesthood and for men who do not wish to commit themselves to celibacy.” He later told Catholic News Service that his vow of celibacy “enhanced [his] life as a priest”, but that he still believed the Church should re-examine its position.
The current Bishop of Derry, Bishop Donal McKeown, paid tribute to the “dedicated and faithful priest”. “Bishop Daly served, without any concern for himself, throughout the traumatic years of the Troubles, finding his ministry shaped by the experience of witnessing violence and its effects; through this dreadful period he always strove to preach the Gospel of the peace of Christ.”
“His ministry was characterised by his deep love of the people of this diocese… and his constant availability to others,” Bishop McKeown said.
Following his retirement as Bishop of Derry, Bishop Daly served as chaplain to the Foyle Hospice in Derry. In 2004 he published a short booklet on ministry to the dying, entitled 'Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled: Thoughts on Ministry to the Terminally Ill'. When he celebrated his last Mass as chaplain in February, family members of the sick he had served spoke warmly of him to local newspaper 'The Derry Journal'. One said: “Bishop Daly always brought calm to a very sad situation. My brother and sister loved his visits. I will never forget this truly wonderful man".
Loading ...
