SOUTH AFRICA: The death has been announced of Archbishop Denis Hurley, a long-time opponent of apartheid in South Africa, writes Patsy McGarry, Religious Affairs Correspondent
Aged 89, he died in Durban following a stroke last Friday. His family was Irish in origin and after contact with Irish Oblate priests in South Africa the late archbishop undertook his novitiate in Ireland in 1933, with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate at Cahermoyle, Co Limerick. He regularly visited relatives here since.
One of the great churchmen to oppose apartheid, his stand as Archbishop of Durban and president of South Africa's Episcopal Conference eventually led to him being brought before the courts. After almost two years of proceedings he was acquitted in February 1985.
For his courageous opposition to apartheid and his contribution to freedom and justice he received the Order of Merit First Class from President Nelson Mandela in 1999. He was also honoured by decree of the President of Italy, who made him a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 1997.
Denis Eugene Hurley was born at Cape Town, South Africa, on November 9th, 1915. When he became a bishop in 1946, he was the youngest Catholic bishop in the world and on retirement in 1992 was the world's longest serving Catholic bishop, after 46 years in office.