EuropaWorld 13/7/2001 Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu is, perhaps, one of the most famous churchmen in the world. He has played a leading role both in the struggle against apartheid and in helping to oversee its demise, as well as in helping his country come to terms with apartheid's bitter legacy through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He is now retired as Archbishop of Cape Town and is regularly invited to travel and speak to organisations and institutions worldwide.

For a man who was to become the voice of black South Africa under apartheid, Desmond Tutu did not come from a particularly auspicious background. He was born in 1931 in Transvaal. Originally planning to become a doctor the young Desmond turned down a place at medical school due to lack of funds. He instead qualified as a teacher although he later resigned in protest at the introduction of the discriminatory Bantu Education Act. This early courageous stance was to set the pattern for the rest of his extraordinary career.

Following his resignation, Desmond Tutu went to theological college and was ordained in 1961. Having taught theology in both South Africa and England, he rose from parish priest to dean of Johannesburg - the first black man to hold that position. His radical honesty, his commitment and his determination then led him to the Bishopric of Lesotho and Archbishopric of Cape Town. Yet even as Archbishop, Tutu had to carry a pass and lived in his house illegally - the suburb was a whites-only area.

Desmond Tutu has developed a reputation as something of a maverick: a churchman-politician who is as outspoken about abuse of power and injustice in today's South Africa as he was under the old regime. His language revolves around the extraordinariness of the people of South Africa in their willingness to overcome the evil of apartheid. He is not without his critics regarding the whole Truth and Reconciliation process which opened up the wounds of a country divided by a pernicious system, in order to attempt to heal them. His recently-published account of that process is typical Tutu: he has dedicated it to the women and 'little people' of South Africa and given it an inspiring and uncompromising title - No Future Without Forgiveness.

The enormous regard worldwide in which this dynamic prelate is held
is reflected in the stories he tells - someone in America rushed up to him and greeted him as Archbishop Mandela! And what of his relationship with former President Mandela, another icon of his times and his generation? It was Mandela who appointed Tutu as chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and it is Mandela who best sums up the man and his mission: "Desmond Tutu has conveyed our common pain and sorrow, our hope and confidence in the future".

Desmond Tutu is a man who rejoices in the human spirit. His optimism, belief in the triumph of good over evil and the remarkable strength of the human spirit will help him with his current struggle - battling with prostate cancer.