Troubled Irish Catholic Church pays tribute to late leader Daly

Ireland's top Catholic cleric paid tribute to his predecessor, Cardinal Cahal Daly, at his funeral and said the Church must learn from him in overcoming a child abuse scandal.

Cardinal Sean Brady gave the homily for Cardinal Daly, the former primate of all Ireland and Archbishop of Armagh who died on December 31 aged 92, at St Patrick's Cathedral in Armagh, Northern Ireland.

Hundreds of mourners were among the congregation, including senior Catholic figures from Britain and politicians such as Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Irish President Mary McAleese.

Cardinal Brady, who took over as primate following Cardinal Daly's retirement in 1996, said "shameful" revelations of abuse of children by Catholic clergy last year had brought the Church in Ireland to a "defining moment in its history".

"As we contemplate the manifold challenges which lie ahead for the pilgrim Church in the Ireland which he (Daly) loved so dearly and served so generously, we would do well to draw strength from his tireless spirit and his boundless confidence," he said.

He said the abuse scandal had "damaged trust so profoundly in the integrity of the leaders of the Church" and this could only be restored through the "humble service of God's people" and the safeguarding of children.

"It will require complete commitment to the path initiated by Cardinal Daly, of working with the civil authorities and whole parish communities to ensure best practice, cooperation and accountability in safeguarding children in all Church activities," he said. Cardinal Brady also paid tribute to his commitment to peace in British-controlled Northern Ireland, which endured three decades of civil conflict between Catholics and Protestants that ended in the Good Friday peace deal in 1998.

He said Cardinal Daly had "worked and prayed tirelessly for mutual understanding, peace and reconciliation" and urged those in the province's power-sharing government to continue to work for those aims.

"I am certain that a reconciled, stable and sustainable future would be the best monument you could build to his memory," Cardinal Brady said.

Cardinal Daly was credited with writing a famous speech by Pope John Paul II in 1979 in which the then head of the Roman Catholic Church appealed to the Irish Republican Army to end its violent campaign to end British rule.

Cardinal Daly, who lay in state in St Peter's Cathedral in Belfast from Saturday until Monday, will be buried in the grounds of St Patrick's.