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Condolences pour in for Kearney

Paddy Kearney smiling when he was alive
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Condolences are pouring in for religious and human rights leader Paddy Kearney. Kearney was a fierce anti-apartheid cleric.

He died from heart failure at Gateway Hospital in Durban aged 76.

As a champion of the poor Kearney spent a life fighting political oppression and subjugation. He founded the Diakonia Council of Churches and the Denis Hurley Centre.

Kearney frequently provided shelter for fleeing activists during apartheid.

He closely interacted with the late Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Prof Fatima Meer.

The cleric wrote a book on Archbishop Hurley’s letters.

Kearney was awarded a special medal by Pope Francis recognising his services to the Catholic Church over several decades.

He promoted the idea of a just society, serving the poorest and most marginalised citizens.

Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Dr Zweli Mkhize described Kearney as a kind, quiet and soft spoken person with a warm and generous spirit who had a vision for a non-racial and transformed nation.

Mkhize adds that Kearney was a giant of the liberation movement in KwaZulu-Natal.

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