Archbishop Hurley, critic of apartheid, dies in South Africa

Archbishop Emeritus Denis Eugene Hurley of Durban, South Africa, died on Friday last after returning home from a religious celebration. He was 89 and had retired from office in 1992.

He had been president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference for many years and was hailed as a champion of human rights, most especially for his outstanding contribution against apartheid, his advocacy for the plight of the poor and dispossessed, and his commitment toward a more just and peaceful society.

Archbishop Hurley was a courageous and outspoken critic of apartheid, openly criticised so-called ‘Bantu education’ and the successive South African governments that supported it. He was the first bishop in the 1950s to express publicly that he was against apartheid and spoke out in support of the rights of black South Africans.