Glasgow - The leader of Scotland's Roman Catholics, Cardinal Thomas Winning, was yesterday buried after a ceremony at which tributes were paid to his combative humanity.
Six hundred mourners, including four cardinals, five archbishops, 20 bishops and nearly 300 priests, gathered in St Andrew's Cathedral in Glasgow, the city of which he was cardinal archbishop. Outside, up to 2,000 watched the ceremony on a huge television screen, standing silently in the sweltering heat as the temperature soared into the 80s. The service was also relayed live to six Catholic churches across the city.
The cathedral service had the air of a semi-state occasion and a new coming-of-age for the church in Scotland, where the Catholic hierarchy was not restored until as recently as 1878. The Earl of Wessex represented Queen Elizabeth and royal family and the Scottish Secretary, Ms Helen Liddell, represented the Prime Minister. Mr Blair.
The Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr John Reid; the Scottish First Minister, Mr Henry McLeish, and leaders of all the main political parties in Scotland attended as did the Archbishop of Dublin, Cardinal Connell, and Cardinal Cahal Daly. Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor was the main celebrant of the Requiem Mass. Bishop Joseph Devine was loudly applauded when he concluded a homily tribute with the words: "Tom, thank you for being you".