Archbishop Denis Hurley

First full biography of Archbishop Denis Hurley:

Guardian of the Light:
Denis Hurley, Renewing the Church, Opposing Apartheid

published by Continuum of New York and London, and co-published by UKZN Press of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

Denis Hurley's father was a lighthouse keeper, the guardian of the light that warns the sailors of dangers and guides them away from destruction. Our Archbishop has been doing this work of warning and guiding for the greater part of his life. And he has done it with great faithfulness.- Alan Paton, author of Cry, the Beloved Country, on the occasion of the archbishop's 70th birthday celebration

Ordering details

Now available in the USA: Call Continuum’s 800 number: 1 800 561 7704.

To order in UK – will be available from Waterstones Bookshops, from 1 September 2009. Distributed by Orca Book services: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Tel +44 01202 665432

To order in SA –
GUARDIAN OF THE LIGHT VIRTUALLY SOLD OUT IN SOUTH AFRICA!
Diakonia Durban will have five copies available early in December. (Phone Daphne at 031-3103500). Order now to avoid disappointment.(R275 each + postage) or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
There are also some copies available at Exclusive Books in Liberty Mall, PMB at R395.00 (Phone 033 342-2074).
The Pauline Bookshops have a few copies at R395.00. (Phone 031-2088803 or 011-6220488/9)
Further copies are on order from the US but will only arrive in six to eight weeks.

Please note that stocks are dwindling fast. At this point we don't know whether the book will be reprinted. UKZN Press has the right to bring out a paperback edition once all their copies have been sold

To order in Australia – Jeremy Hurley's advice is that it's quicker and cheaper to order from Amazon.com. (By the way he's one of 13 nephews and nieces of the Archbishop who live in Australia.)

The official Australian distributor is Rainbow Books. It's advertised on their websites: <www.rainbowbooks.com.au> and <www.mosaicresources.com.au>. And they've informed all Christian bookshops about the book. The principal bookshops where it's available are all the Pauline bookshops (Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne) and the Central Catholic Bookshop in Melbourne. You can also order directly through Rainbow or through their retail bookshop, Mosaic Resources.

But ... remember Jeremy Hurley's advice ...

Royalties
All royalties from the sale of the book will be donated to the Denis Hurley Centre at Emmanuel Cathedral. This multipurpose centre serves the social, educational and community-building needs of the cathedral parish, as well as providing extensive pastoral outreach to refugees, homeless people and people living with AIDS in one of the poorest areas in Durban's inner city.

Dust cover flap notes
Front Flap

DENIS HURLEY was a courageous opponent of South Africa's apartheid regime for 50 years, dubbed "an ecclesiastical Che Guevara" by a South African offi cial and "guardian of the light" by Alan Paton. He was a champion of the reforms and "spirit" of Vatican II, who was controversial for his views on birth control, married priests, and women's ordination. Born in Cape Town in 1915 of Irish parents, he became the youngest Catholic bishop in the world in 1947 at 31 and archbishop of Durban in 1951. He retired as archbishop in 1992, becoming chancellor of the University of Natal from 1993 to 1998. He continued to work as a parish priest well into his eighties. His career as an outspoken opponent of apartheid began in 1951 when, as chairman of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, he drafted the fi rst of the ground-breaking pastoral letters in which the bishops denounced apartheid as "blasphemy" and "intrinsically evil." Eventually, along with four other church leaders (including Desmond Tutu), he was regarded as one of the South African state's "most wanted" political opponents. In 1984 he was charged with making false statements about a counter-insurgency unit in Namibia, but the prosecutor dropped the charges when it became clear that Hurley would be able to prove the truth of his statements. He received many death threats and on one occasion his house was petrol bombed.

Back Flap

PADDY KEARNEY was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, in 1942 where he went to school at St Charles's Marist College. He has Bachelors degrees in Arts (Natal University) and Education (Witwatersrand University) and a Masters Degree in Education from Toledo, Ohio where he had a Fulbright Scholarship. He taught in secondary schools in Durban and Johannesburg and lectured in Education at Natal University. From 1976 to 2004 he headed the staff team at Diakonia, an ecumenical social justice agency founded by Archbishop Denis Hurley to help Durban churches respond to the socio-political challenges of the area. He is at present a consultant to the KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council.

Archbishop Hurley was one of our greatest South Africans. This biography reveals what gave him that stature - his integrity, fearlessness, gentleness of spirit and his magnanimity. It is a must read for all of us. - The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa

This book not only provides a glimpse into South African history during the apartheid years but a vivid, poignant story of a powerful yet humble man of God, committed to truth, justice and nonracialism. It should be read by every South African and many others too around the world, in order to understand our role as part of the human family. - Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, Chancellor of the Durban University of Technology

Denis Hurley was an inspiration. This champion in the fi ght against apartheid in South Africa was a bishop ahead of many of his people. Paddy Kearney is well placed to tell the inside story. His book throws fresh light on the life and career of a great churchman. - John Wilkins, Editor, The Tablet, 1982-2003

Archbishop Denis Hurley's life, a life of immense courage, deep spirituality and prophetic leadership, deserves to be more widely known not only in South Africa, but throughout the world. - Albert Nolan, O.P., author of God in South Africa

Read extracts published in the Southern Cross
Extract One: A Child On Robben Island
Extract Two: Rome in the Time of Mussolini and Hitler
Extract Three: Youngest Bishop
Extract Four: Adult Education for Bishops
Extract Five: Getting to know Hurley
Extract Six: Hurley on Trial
Extract Seven: A Relish for Intellectual Debate
Extract Eight: The Dream Realised

Guardian of the Light reviewed by Günther Simmermacher, editor of the Southern Cross