Denis Hurley (bishop)
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Denis Eugene Hurley, OMI OMSG (9 November 1915 – 13 February 2004) was a South African Catholic prelate who served as Vicar Apostolic of Natal from 1946 to 1951 and as Archbishop of Durban from 1951 to 1992. He was a member of the
Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest later recognized as a Catholic saint. The congregation was ...
. He was born in
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
and spent his early years on
Robben Island Robben Island () is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch language, Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrika ...
, where his father was the lighthouse keeper. In 1951, Hurley was appointed Archbishop of Durban, becoming the youngest archbishop in the world at the time. Hurley was an active participant in the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...
, which he described as "the greatest project of adult education ever held in the world". An outspoken opponent of
apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
, as chairman of the
Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference The Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC) is an episcopal conference consisting of all the Bishop (Catholic Church), bishops of the Roman Catholic (term), Roman Catholic Church in Roman Catholic Church in South Africa, South Africa ...
, Hurley drafted the first of the ground-breaking pastoral letters in which the bishops denounced apartheid as "
blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...
" and "intrinsically evil." Upon his retirement as archbishop, he served as the
chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
of the
University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...
.


Life

Denis Hurley was born in
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
to Irish parents, spending his early years on
Robben Island Robben Island () is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch language, Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrika ...
, where his father was the lighthouse keeper. Educated at St Charles College in Pietermaritzburg, Natal, he joined the
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest later recognized as a Catholic saint. The congregation wa ...
(OMI) in 1931 and in the following year was sent to Ireland for his novitiate. In 1933, Hurley was sent to the Angelicum University (now known as
Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas The Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (PUST), also known as the ''Angelicum'' or ''Collegio Angelico'' (in honor of its patron, the ''Doctor Angelicus'' Thomas Aquinas), is a pontifical university located in the historic center of R ...
) in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
to study
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
. He received the degree Licentiate of Philosophy from the Angelicum in 1936 and started studying at the
Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyola, and included all ...
. Hurley was ordained as a
priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
in Rome on 9 July 1939 and was awarded his license in Theology in 1940. Later he was appointed
curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...
at Emmanuel Cathedral, Durban, where he stayed until 1943 when he was appointed Superior at Saint Joseph's Scholasticate, then based in Prestbury,
Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...
. He stayed in this position until 12 December 1946 when, aged 31, was named Vicar Apostolic of Natal and Bishop of Durban. He was the youngest Roman Catholic bishop in the world at that time. He chose as his motto ''Ubi Spiritus, ibi libertas'', which means "Where the Spirit is, there is liberty". Hurley was among the first church leaders to denounce apartheid, condemning the policy as an affront to human dignity.Shaw, Gerald. "Archbishop Denis Hurley" (obit), ''The Guardian'', February 18, 2004
/ref> On 11 January 1951, the Vicariate Apostolic of Natal was elevated to the Archdiocese of Durban and Hurley became archbishop, also the youngest in the world at the time. In the following year, Hurley became the first president of the newly established Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, a post he held until 1961. He was again President of this body from 1981 until 1987. Hurley is remembered for his contribution to the struggle against apartheid, his concern for the poor and his commitment towards a more just and peaceful society. In 1961, he was appointed to the Central Preparatory Commission for the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...
.


Second Vatican Council

In 1961, Hurley was appointed to the Central Preparatory Commission for the
Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...
. He attributed this to Rome having out-of-date information stating he was still President of the Southern African Bishops Conference, when in fact Archbishop Owen McCann was President. At the council itself, Hurley was elected to the Commission for Seminaries, Studies and Catholic Education. During the council, he gave ten speeches and made four written submissions. During the council, Hurley wrote a series of anonymous articles for the South African Catholic weekly newspaper "The Southern Cross". In 2001 he wrote a 17-part series of memories of Vatican II for ''The Southern Cross''. In recounting its informal cycle of lectures, workshops and long evenings of debates over dinner with interested members of the clergy and laity, Hurley observed that the presence of so many scholars who had been called to Rome to assist with the work of Vatican II had created "the greatest project of adult education ever held in the world."Simmermacher, Gunther, "Hurley remembers Vatican II", ''The Southern Cross'', April 2, 2005
/ref> These articles provided the basis for his posthumously pub lished memoirs of the Council, ''Keeping the Dream Alive''. Hurley was described as "...an eloquent and forceful preacher, ...mild-mannered and soft-spoken away from the pulpit. He was a man of formidable intellect, so much so that he was held in awe by his clergy.


ICEL

Hurley took a special interest in the active participation of all the baptized in the church’s liturgy, especially the Mass. In 1975, Hurley was elected chair of the
International Commission on English in the Liturgy The International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) is a commission set up by a number of episcopal conferences of English-speaking countries for the purpose of providing English translations of the liturgical books of the Roman Rite, ...
(ICEL), a post to which he was re-elected until 1991. His work with Msgr. Frederick McManus of Catholic University in Washington led to a plan that a number of English speaking conferences would join together to prepare a single text for proposed use all over the world. In 1965 Pope Paul VI named Hurley to the Consilium (
Council for the Implementation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...
). In 1975 as ICEL chairman, he oversaw the completion of the four-volume breviary. Hurley frequently registered his disappointment at the reorganisation of ICEL under the auspices of the newly established Vatican office Vox Clara, as mandated by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
's instruction
Liturgiam authenticam ''Liturgiam authenticam'' (titled: ''De usu linguarum popularium in libris liturgiae Romanae edendis'') is an instruction of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, dated 28 March 2001. This instruction included ...
.


South African political involvement

According to Anthony Egan, "Prohibited during Dutch rule, coolly tolerated by the British, and treated with intense suspicion after the
Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...
in 1910, the Church was (unsurprisingly) cautious in challenging apartheid. With the majority of its clergy foreign-born and thus vulnerable to deportation, it was encouraged even by the Vatican to ‘play it safe’ after the 1948 National Party election victory. But Hurley, a white South African by birth, ... thought differently." Hurley was an outspoken opponent of apartheid, and was a driving force in a 1957 declaration by the bishops of South Africa that described apartheid as "intrinsically evil". In the late 1970s Hurley held a daily silent protest, standing in front of the central Durban Post Office for a period each day with a placard expressing his opposition to apartheid and the displacement of people from their homes. In 1984 Hurley was charged with contravening the South African police act by publishing information which the government alleged to be untrue about atrocities committed in
Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...
by the South African military unit known as Koevoet. He received many death threats and was at times subject to house arrest. On three occasions bombs went off near his residence. The state withdrew the charges later and settled a claim by the Archbishop for damages out of court, paying him R 25,000. Due to his commitment to social justice, the Denis Hurley Peace Institute, an associate body of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, was named in his honour. Hurley also worked to assist young men who for reasons of conscience were opposed to joining the South African military.


The Hurley Case

A lawsuit, known as The Hurley Case, managed to secure the release of Paddy Kearney, a political opponent of the ruling National Party detained under Section 29 of the Internal Security Act. According to South African law professor Tony Mathews, the case "Hurley and Another vs the Minister of Law and Order" became "the most important civil rights ruling for several decades" and is still taught in law schools today. Hurley became actively involved, turning up in black communities the day they were due to be forcibly removed. On hearing that children had died shortly after one such removal, Hurley counted their graves and recorded their names and ages. Then he released the details to the press, much to the fury of the state. In response to the weak response of South Africa's churches to apartheid, Hurley founded an ecumenical agency, Diakonia, dedicated to social justice. Hurley said his greatest struggle was convincing South African Catholics that social justice was integral to their faith rather than an optional extra. Hurley was nicknamed ''Mehl'emamba'' (''Eyes of the Mamba'') by appreciative Zulus.


Thomas More College

Hurley played a key role in supporting Chris Hurley (his brother) and Robin Savory in founding Thomas More College. His brother Chris later became the second headmaster of the school. Archbishop Hurley also wrote the school song, "God Our Maker". There is a memorial garden dedicated to him located on the school grounds.


Last years

On retiring as Archbishop of Durban in 1992, Hurley became chancellor of the University of Natal from 1993 to 1998. He also served as a parish priest for ten years at Emmanuel Cathedral, Durban, where he had officiated so many years earlier as a curate. Hurley was seen by some as a "liberal". Many believe that his respectful and very careful questioning of
Humanae Vitae (Latin, meaning 'Of Human Life') is an encyclical written by Pope Paul VI and dated 25 July 1968. The text was issued at a Vatican press conference on 29 July. Subtitled ''On the Regulation of Birth'', it re-affirmed the teaching of the Catho ...
in 1968 made the cardinalate an impossibility. In 2002 Hurley retired to write his memoirs. He also spent his time writing letters to ''The Times'' debating the finer points of cricket, and composing the words for new hymns. The final article to be published in his lifetime was a guest editorial in the Christmas 2003 edition of "The Southern Cross", headlined "God's special gift to us". Hurley died as he was being driven back to the Oblate retirement community in Durban after a celebration of the 50th anniversary of a school at whose dedication he had presided as a young archbishop.Page, John. "An appreciation of Denis Hurley, archbishop emeritus of Durban, South Africa", ''National Catholic Reporter'', February 20, 2004
/ref>


Honours

Hurley received the following honours during his lifetime:


Legacy

According to Gerald Shaw writing for ''The Guardian'', "It was in part due to his sustained moral crusade and that of other churchmen that the transition to democracy, when it came in 1994, was accepted by white people in peace and good order." The Archdiocese of Durban's Archbishop Denis Hurley Memorial Fund was set up in favor of two favorite projects of Archbishop Hurley: Kwa Thintwa School for the Deaf and San Egidio Community Project in Mozambique. There is a bronze statue of Hurley at the Kwa Thintwa School, KZN commissioned by the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Zweli Mkhize. The Denis Hurley Association of is a UK registered charity established in London "to promote and raise funds for the Denis Hurley Centre in Durban, South Africa". The Centre is planned as home to about a dozen projects to provide medical care, a soup kitchen, job training, support for people living with HIV/AIDS and in particular will offer assistance to refugees, migrants, who have reached South Africa from afar afield as Somalia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2017, a shrine to Hurley was opened at Durban's Emmanuel Cathedral and his successor, Cardinal Wilfred Napier, published a prayer soliciting Hurley's intercession and expressed a desire for an official sainthood cause to be opened for him in the archdiocese.


References


Sources

*Denis O.P, P., ''Facing the Crisis Selected Texts of Archbishop D.E. Hurley'' (Cluster Publications, 1997). *Gamley, A. ''Denis Hurley A Portrait by Friends'' (Cluster Publications, 2001). *Kearney, P ''Memories: The memoirs of Archbishop Denis E Hurley OMI'' (Cluster Publications, 2006).


External links


Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) obituary for Archbishop Hurley

"Hurley bio: A full life of love", ''The Southern Cross''

"Archbishop Hurley: A great man's 50 years", ''The Southern Cross''



Honouring the Burly Hurley
by Stephen Coan, '' The Witness'', August 17, 2009
Archbishop Hurley always took a stand for peace and justice
Bishop Rubin Phillip, ''Daily News'', 24 April 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurley, Denis 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in South Africa 1915 births 2004 deaths Roman Catholic anti-apartheid activists White South African anti-apartheid activists South African anti-apartheid activists Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Participants in the Second Vatican Council Clergy from Cape Town People from Durban South African people of Irish descent 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in South Africa 21st-century venerated Christians Roman Catholic bishops of Umzimkulu Roman Catholic bishops of Durban Roman Catholic archbishops of Durban