Bernard Daly

Died peacefully January 2, 2009 in St. Michael's hospital in Toronto after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 83. Survived by Mae, his wife of 60 years; five children: Tom (Robin) of Petite Riviere NS; Patricia Grappolini (Giorgio) of Calgary; Mary Anne Burke (Joseph) of Ottawa; Michael (Linda) of Norco, CA; and Teresa Bolton (Barry) of Kingston ON; 16 grand children; and 14 great grand children; predeceased by his youngest son, Timothy (2006).

Raised on a farm near Mayfair, SK, he graduated from St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon with a BA (1945) and joined the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix for ten years. He and Mae were married 9 October 1948. He was named in 1958 to direct the new English Information Service of the Catholic bishops in Ottawa, and covered all four sessions of the Vatican Council in Rome, 1962-65, for English Canadian media. From 1958 into the 1970s, he and Mae were members of the Christian Family Movement's international program committee; and from 1963 into the 1970s a teaching couple for SERENA's sympto-thermal method of natural family planning. He was named first director of the bishops' Family Life Bureau; and earned his MA in Sociology (1971) from Carleton University.

An inter-church delegation to the 1972 UN Trade and Development Conference in Chile saw the Canadian delegation vote consistently against poor countries. This led Canada's major churches to form thirteen coalitions to monitor Canadian government and corporation policies and behaviour towards various poor peoples. Bernard's focus was the Inter-church Project on Population (ICPOP), concerned with immigrants, refugees and Canadian population policy. He opposed entry of the Zero Population Growth ideology into Health Canada and Immigration Canada policy-making.

An ICPOP delegation to the 1974 UN Population Conference in Bucharest, supported the third-world view that poverty was caused by aid, development and trade programs imposed by rich countries and corporations still acting with colonial attitudes. As the 1978 Immigration act was drafted, this church coalition lobbied on behalf of refugees and poor immigrants.

Bernard was in Rome as drafter/translator with the Canadian delegation to the 1980 Synod on the family. He was named in 1982 to the bishops' team preparing the 1984 papal visit to Canada; and in 1985, named English assistant CCCB general secretary, the first layman in that post. After retirement in 1991 he and Mae divided their time between Canada and Grenada, where he completed three books: Remembering forTomorrow/ Se Souvenir pour Demain (CCCB 1995), a history of the CCCB' first 50 years, 1943 to 1993; Even Greater Things (Novalis 1999), co-authored with Mae Daly and Bishop Remi De Room about hopes and challenges after Vatican II; and Beyond Secrecy (Novalis 2003), an overview of Canadian participation at Vatican II. He returned to Toronto in 1993 - 97 as editor / publisher of The Catholic Register. Prayer vigil at Blessed John XXIII Parish, 150 Gateway Blvd Toronto on Wednesday, January 7 at 7:30 p.m.;

His funeral mass will be on Thursday, January 8, at 10 a.m.; burial later in the family plot at St. Camillus parish cemetery at Farrellton QC. Any donations to the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace. Thanks to Dr. Rashida Haq and St. Michael's Hospital staff.