Pope Benedict has praised former Catholic Primate of All Ireland, Cardinal Cahal Daly for his work building peace in the North.
In a statement, the pontiff said he was deeply saddened by the death of Cardinal Daly and passed his condolences to his family, fellow clergy and 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,” he said.
He paid tribute to the late cleric as hundreds of mourners filed past his open coffin inside St Peter’s Cathedral in west Belfast today and yesterday.
The North's First Minister Peter Robinson today paid tribute to the late Cardinal Daly and said he had been out of circulation due to family issues following the death of the former Catholic Primate.
Former SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon questioned why Mr Robinson had not released a statement earlier, and said he would have been contacted by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.
Mr Robinson said: “I want to take this opportunity to extend my sincere sympathy to the family of the late Cardinal Cahal Daly at this particularly sad time. I am acutely aware of the high esteem with which Cardinal Daly was held by many throughout the community.
“Although I never met him, I acknowledge that his contribution to the religious and civic life of Northern Ireland was immense and spanned a very bleak period in our history. He was consistent in his opposition to the use of violence to advance political objectives.”
The lying-in-state of Cardinal Cahal Daly continued today at St Peter’s Cathedral in Belfast.
The Mass of the Dead was celebrated at noon yesterday and Cardinal Daly's remains lay in state until 9pm.
Today, the lying-in-state commenced at 9am. A Liturgy of the Word and removal of the remains took place at 3pm. The funeral cortege travelled to Armagh, to arrive for Sunday Mass at 5.30pm at St Patrick's Cathedral, where the cardinal was archbishop and Catholic primate from 1990-1996.
Afterwards there will be a lying-in-state until 10pm.
On Monday, the lying-in-state at St Patrick’s Cathedral will begin at nine o’clock in the morning, continuing until nine o’clock that night. The Office for the Dead will be read there at six o’clock in the evening. Requiem Mass for the Cardinal will be at noon on Tuesday. It will be followed by burial in the cathedral grounds.
Cardinal Daly, who was 92, died peacefully at 6.45pm on New Year’s Eve at the City Hospital in Belfast.
He is survived by his sister Rosaleen and brother Paddy, his sisters-in-law Barbara and Mavis, his nieces and nephews.
His successor as Archbishop of Armagh, the Catholic primate Cardinal Seán Brady, in a tribute, said the influence of Cardinal Daly on the work of the Irish Bishops’ Conference was “vast”, while “at a critical and troubled time in Irish history” he was “firm and courageous in his absolute rejection of violence as a means of achieving political ends”.
President Mary McAleese said Cardinal Daly “showed immense courage in his efforts to advocate for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Northern Ireland and he was deeply committed to inter-church relations”. He was “an outstanding scholar and writer and maintained his academic interests right up to the time of his death”, she said.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen described Cardinal Daly as “a trenchant supporter of peace” who “determinedly used his influence in every way he could to bring about a peaceful solution” in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness admitted that Cardinal Daly and the republican movement had never been politically close. “However, in the course of recent years I met with him on numerous occasions, all of which were friendly,” he said.
Former British prime minister Tony Blair said Cardinal Daly’s “life is a real and lasting example of effective religious leadership working to build peace and resolve conflict”.
DUP minister Arlene Foster paid tribute “to his consistent opposition to the use of violence”.