This Boxing Day, many of us were saddened to hear the news that Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa had died. A vocal opponent of apartheid, Archbishop Tutu fought for justice in South Africa and beyond, receiving the Nobel Peace prize for his work in 1984.
Born in 1931 in Klerksdorp, a town in South Africa’s Transvaal province, Desmond Mpilo Tutu did not intend to become the head of the South African Anglican church. He initially wanted to become a doctor, but since his family could not afford the necessary education, he went into teaching. However, after teaching for only three years, Tutu resigned in protest of government restrictions on education for Black children and began theological training at St. Peter’s Theological College in Johannesburg. He was ordained in 1961 and later became the first Black Anglican bishop of Johannesburg and then the first Black archbishop of Cape Town.
In all his roles, Archbishop Tutu was a leading spokesperson for the rights of Black South Africans. He drew national and international attention to the evils of apartheid, emphasizing nonviolent means of protest and encouraging international sanctions against South Africa. His stance drew opposition, leading to several arrests and the revocation of his passport. But Tutu was uncompromising and as South Africa moved towards democracy in the early 1990’s, he had the honour of introducing the country’s first Black president, Nelson Mandela, to the nation. In 1995, president Mandela appointed Tutu to lead the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as it investigated human rights abuses from the apartheid era. The TRC became a model for similar commissions around the world, including the Canadian commission. Archbishop Tutu continued to hold South African governments accountable and the speak out against oppression throughout his life.
“Dear Child of God, I write these words because we all experience sadness, we all come at times to despair, and we all lose hope that the suffering in our lives and in the world will ever end. I want to share with you my faith and my understanding that this suffering can be transformed and redeemed. There is no such thing as a totally hopeless case. Our God is an expert at dealing with chaos, with brokenness, with all the worst that we can imagine. God created order out of disorder, cosmos out of chaos, and God can do so always, can do so now–in our personal lives and in our lives as nations, globally. … Indeed, God is transforming the world now–through us–because God loves us.”
~ Desmond Tutu, God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time
