Requiem Mass being held this afternoon for Catholic civil serant Paul McCauley who died at the weekend nine years after being attacked by a loyalist mob
THE Catholic and Church of Ireland bishops of Derry have united to urge the public to come forward with information about the UDA killers of Paul McCauley.
Bishop Donal McKeown and Bishop Ken Good said it was now “time to put the truth on the table” and for people to bring forward information about the Catholic father’s killers and give it to the PSNI.
The 38-year-old passed away on Saturday at a care home in Derry surrounded by his heartbroken but loving family.
In July 2006, a 15-strong UDA mob attacked him and jumped on his head fractured skull while he was attending a barbecue in the Waterside area of the city.
Hundreds of mourners have gathered this afternoon at St Columb’s Church in Derry for Paul’s Requiem Mass.
His brave parents Jim and Cathy have led family and friends into the church to celebrate Paul’s life.
Among the mourners were deputy first minister Martin McGuinness and SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan.
The leaders of both Catholics and Protestants in the city have used the Requiem Mass to appeal to the consciences of people in the community and give up the murderers.
Bishop Donal McKeown said: “I think we need to have some ability to know what happened, why it happened and clearly there are many people who are aware of the background to this.
“This wasn’t a secret thing done by one person up a dark alleyway.
“This was done by a large group of people. Large numbers are aware of what happened.
“I think we all need to have the truth out on the table so that the McCauley family can know what happened and then move on, and that those who were responsible for the death of another human being can accept responsibility for that and take whatever is coming at them.”
Church of Ireland Bishop Ken Good said: “This day has struck a really deep chord in the hearts of the community and in my own heart too.
“There’s a lot of soul-searching going on, there’s a lot of deep wondering about what kind of society we are and we want to be and I think it is a time for examining of conscience.
“It’s a time of grief, it’s a time of sadness. I feel particularly for the McCauley family, for Jim and Cathy.
“They have responded to this whole situation with dignity over the years, with remarkable inspiration for all of us and yet now we have to ask the question about our society as we examine our consciences of why have people not been brought to justice.
“Are there people who need to face deep realities about what has happened?
“It’s a sobering time.”
Bishop Good appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
“It’s too late for Paul but it’s not too late for the family, nor us as a society for people to come forward.”
During the Requiem Mass, Father Michael Canny told mourners that Mr McCauley’s life had been cruelly cut short and his death was a poignant tragedy.
The priest said it was only natural that there was an air of denunciation and an outraged sense of injustice.
“There is a pervading righteous anger here, but let it be the anger of a heart of love, a heart broken by the bitter brutality of men,” he said.
The PSNI’s Major Investigation Team (MIT) based at Maydown in Derry have now launched a murder inquiry.
Anyone with information about the killers is asked to contact detectives on the 101 non-emergency number or through the freephone Crimestoppers number on 0800 555 111.
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