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Cardinal Cahal Daly: pastor and philosopher

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William Crawley | 15:01 UK time, Friday, 1 January 2010

Most of the to Cahal Daly focus on his work as a peace advocate, as a staunch opponent of physical force Republicanism, and as a campaigner for Christian unity.

My memories of Cardinal Daly are less political. Cardinal-Cathal_1551929c.jpgI interviewed him a number of times on a variety of subjects and he was never more animated than when talking about philosophy, the subject he taught at Queen's University for many years. While Reader in Scholastic Philosophy, Cahal Daly served as a peritus (a theological adviser) at the Second Vatican Council. Other periti at the Council included Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI), Hans Küng, and Karl Rahner.

The first time I heard Cahal Daly speak in person was a lecture he gave as part of a symposium on Wittgenstein at Queen's in the late 80s -- which effected a neoscholastic encounter between Aquinas and Wittgenstein if I recall correctly. His Moral Philosophy in Britain from Bradley to Wittgenstein, written in the late 60s but published in the 90s, still finds its way onto syllabi in the historiography of ethics. In retirement, he continued to write on philosophical topics, and gave the occasional lecture. He collected his unpublished philosophical papers, written over many decades, for publication, and became increasingly interested in environmental ethics. That interest produced a book, The Minding of Planet Earth, that made a case for a rapprochement between faith and science, and was regarded by many environmentalists as a thoughtful attempt to do theological justice to our present ecological crisis.

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Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    This comment has been referred for further consideration. Explain.

  • Comment number 2.

    Because you have to prove you're Religious in every sense.
    Every Church including the Devil's shady ones know I never sat on the partly Divine fence.
    That partly Divine fence is only Divine on this side of it.
    And what values do we Churchies uphold?
    Every value of God is upheld & it may well hurt to uphold them until the other side of the fence accept we've got our message across what appears to be the most sarcastic rift in Creation.
    Am I ever sarcastic with the Divine side of the fence?
    Practicality never was sarcasm.
    Doing something useful for both the Community & yourself is indeed the nature of a more effective Community.
    GOD-IS-A-MORE-EFFECTIVE-COMMUNITY.
    Did I just upset the undivine side of the fence?
    And what about a Street Party for both Believers & Disbelievers to end the Cold War?
    Blow away the cobwebs whilst you're@it.
    You won't be too upset when show you what Happiness is either.
    Counselling teaches all one very simple Golden Rule;
    THE-ANSWERS-ARE-ALREADY-WITHIN-YOU.
    See all them PROBLEMS?
    PROBLEMS-NEED-LESS-PRETENCE.
    And as you've noticed, the sooner the better.
    Did I not tell the Devil to get a smaller fireplace?
    See what LESS PRETENCE does in the Year of
    Our Lord 2010 Anno Domini.

  • Comment number 3.

    As an academic, Cardinal Daly would resist the accusation that he plagiarized so let the record show that the assertion "You can't bomb a million Protestants into a united Ireland " was first expressed in public by Thomas Mac Giolla of the Official IRA in Carrickmore in 1972. Of course, Dr Daly gave this statement a new audience later but even after his death, he would not wish to have this allegation of academic mortal sin stand unchallenged. May he rest exhonerated!

  • Comment number 4.

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