|
Nobel Peace Prize recipient, author and Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town Desmond Tutu discusses ‘Africa’s Rebirth’ and his contributions to racial justice in South Africa.
A list of the 20th-century’s great spiritual and religious leaders might include the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi and the Dalai Lama.
But no list would be complete without Desmond Tutu.
Tutu received the Nobel Prize in 1984 for his struggle against apartheid in South Africa.
“I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights,” Tutu said of his efforts.
He spent the next five years working to bridge the gap between black and white Anglicans in South Africa as bishop of Johannesburg and later as archbishop of Cape Town.
In December 1995, Nelson Mandela appointed Tutu to head South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He retired from office as archbishop of Cape Town in June 1996, but was named Archbishop Emeritus in July 1996.
Elizabeth J.L. Davenport, associate dean of religious life at USC, describes Tutu as “a man of towering moral authority and passion.”
“The very words ‘truth’ and ‘reconciliation’ will forever be associated with him,” said Davenport, herself an ordained Episcopal priest. “There’s just something about him that calls people to tell the truth, to forgive, to aspire to a better humanity.”
Tutu is seldom timid about stamping out injustices, even when they clash with the beliefs of his church.
Of society’s mistreatment of gays and lesbians, Tutu has said, “It is sad indeed that we as a church have more often than not turned our back on a significant portion of God's people on the basis of their sexual orientation. We have inflicted on gay and lesbian people the tremendous pain of having to live a lie or to face brutal rejection if they dared to reveal their true selves.”
Tutu is a recipient of South Africa’s Order for Meritorious Service Award (gold), the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Award for outstanding service to the Anglican Communion, the Prix d’Athene and the Martin Luther King Jr. Non-Violent Peace Prize.
The author of four collections of sermons and addresses, he is at work on publishing two new books that examine transfiguration and the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
More Information:
|
