Desmond Tutu Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Archbishop of Cape Town: 1986–1994=== [[File:Desmond Tutu, 1986 Jan (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Tutu on a visit to San Francisco in 1986]] After [[Philip Russell (bishop)|Philip Russell]] announced his retirement as the [[Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town|Archbishop of Cape Town]],{{sfn|Gish|2004|p=121}} in February 1986 the Black Solidarity Group formed a plan to get Tutu appointed as his replacement.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=263–264}} At the time of the meeting, Tutu was in [[Atlanta]], Georgia, receiving the [[Martin Luther King, Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=263}} Tutu secured a two-thirds majority from both the clergy and laity and was then ratified in a unanimous vote by the synod of bishops.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=248–249|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=121|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=264}} He was the first black man to hold the post.{{sfn|Gish|2004|p=121}} Some white Anglicans left the church in protest.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1pp=254–255|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=265}} Over 1,300 people attended his enthronement ceremony at the [[St. George's Cathedral, Cape Town|Cathedral of St George the Martyr]] on 7 September 1986.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=122|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=266}} After the ceremony, Tutu held an open-air Eucharist for 10,000 people at the Cape Showgrounds in [[Goodwood, Cape Town|Goodwood]], where he invited [[Albertina Sisulu]] and [[Allan Boesak]] to give political speeches.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=259|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=267}} Tutu moved into the archbishop's [[Bishopscourt, Cape Town|Bishopscourt]] residence; this was illegal as he did not have official permission to reside in what the state allocated as a "white area".{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1pp=122–123|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=1, 268}} He obtained money from the church to oversee renovations of the house,{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=269}} and had a children's playground installed in its grounds, opening this and the Bishopscourt swimming pool to members of his diocese.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=123|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=270}} He invited the English priest Francis Cull to set up the Institute of Christian Spirituality at Bishopscourt, with the latter moving into a building in the house's grounds.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=276}} Such projects led to Tutu's ministry taking up an increasingly large portion of the Anglican church's budget, which Tutu sought to expand through requesting donations from overseas.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=276}} Some Anglicans were critical of his spending.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=277}} Tutu's vast workload was managed with the assistance of his executive officer [[Njongonkulu Ndungane]] and [[Michael Nuttall]], who in 1989 was elected dean of the province.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=277–279}} In church meetings, Tutu drew upon traditional African custom by adopting a consensus-building model of leadership, seeking to ensure that competing groups in the church reached a compromise and thus all votes would be unanimous rather than divided.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=279}} He secured approval for the ordination of female priests in the Anglican church, having likened the exclusion of women from the position to apartheid.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=280}} He appointed gay priests to senior positions and privately—although not at the time publicly—criticised the church's insistence that gay priests remain celibate.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=280–281}} Along with Boesak and [[Stephen Naidoo]], Tutu mediated conflicts between black protesters and the security forces; they for instance worked to avoid clashes at the 1987 funeral of ANC guerrilla [[Ashley Kriel]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=284–285}} In February 1988, the government banned 17 black or multi-racial organisations, including the UDF, and restricted the activities of trade unions. Church leaders organised a protest march, and after that too was banned they established the Committee for the Defense of Democracy. When the group's rally was banned, Tutu, Boesak, and Naidoo organised a service at St George's Cathedral to replace it.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=127|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=290}} {{Quote box | quote = You have already lost! Let us say to you nicely: you have already lost! We are inviting you to come and join the winning side! Your cause is unjust. You are defending what is fundamentally indefensible, because it is evil. It is evil without question. It is immoral. It is immoral without question. It is unchristian. Therefore, you will bite the dust! And you will bite the dust comprehensively. | source=— Desmond Tutu addressing the government, 1988{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=291}} | align = left | width = 25em }} Opposed on principle to [[Capital punishment in South Africa|capital punishment]], in March 1988 Tutu took up the cause of the [[Sharpeville Six]] who had been sentenced to death.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=1–4}} He telephoned representatives of the American, British, and German governments urging them to pressure Botha on the issue,{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=4}} and personally met with Botha at the latter's [[Tuynhuys]] home to discuss the issue. The two did not get on well, and argued.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=127|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=1–5}} Botha accused Tutu of supporting the ANC's armed campaign; Tutu said that while he did not support their use of violence, he supported the ANC's objective of a non-racial, democratic South Africa.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=5–6}} The death sentences were ultimately commuted.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=6}} In May 1988, the government launched a covert campaign against Tutu, organised in part by the [[State Security Council#Stratkom|Stratkom]] wing of the [[State Security Council]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=293, 294}} The security police printed leaflets and stickers with anti-Tutu slogans while unemployed blacks were paid to protest when he arrived at the airport.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=293, 294}} Traffic police briefly imprisoned Leah when she was late to renew her motor vehicle license.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=294}} Although the security police organised assassination attempts on various anti-apartheid Christian leaders, they later claimed to have never done so for Tutu, deeming him too high-profile.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=295}} Tutu remained actively involved in acts of [[civil disobedience]] against the government; he was encouraged by the fact that many whites also took part in these protests.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=307}} In August 1989 he helped to organise an "Ecumenical Defiance Service" at St George's Cathedral,{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=301–302}} and shortly after joined protests at segregated beaches outside Cape Town.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=131|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=303}} To mark the sixth anniversary of the UDF's foundation he held a "service of witness" at the cathedral,{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=304}} and in September organised a church memorial for those protesters who had been killed in clashes with the security forces.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=131|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=308}} He organised a [[Cape Town peace march|protest march through Cape Town]] for later that month, which the new President [[F. W. de Klerk]] agreed to permit; a multi-racial crowd containing an estimated 30,000 people took part.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=132|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=308–311|3a1=Sampson|3y=2011|3p=397}} That the march had been permitted inspired similar demonstrations to take place across the country.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=311}} In October, de Klerk met with Tutu, Boesak, and [[Frank Chikane]]; Tutu was impressed that "we were listened to".{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=312–313}} In 1994, a further collection of Tutu's writings, ''The Rainbow People of God'', was published, and followed the next year with his ''An African Prayer Book'', a collection of prayers from across the continent accompanied by the Archbishop's commentary.{{sfn|Gish|2004|p=144}} ====Dismantling of apartheid==== [[File:Nelson Mandela-2008 (edit).jpg|thumb|right|Tutu welcomed Mandela (pictured) to Bishopscourt when the latter was released from prison and later organised the religious component of his presidential inauguration ceremony.]] In February 1990, de Klerk lifted the ban on political parties like the ANC; Tutu telephoned him to praise the move.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=135|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=313}} De Klerk then announced Nelson Mandela's release from prison; at the ANC's request, Mandela and his wife Winnie stayed at Bishopscourt on the former's first night of freedom.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1pp=135–136|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=313|3a1=Sampson|3y=2011|3p=409}} Tutu and Mandela met for the first time in 35 years at [[Cape Town City Hall]], where Mandela spoke to the assembled crowds.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=314}} Tutu invited Mandela to attend an Anglican synod of bishops in February 1990, at which the latter described Tutu as the "people's archbishop".{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=315–316}} There, Tutu and the bishops called for an end to foreign sanctions once the transition to [[universal suffrage]] was "irreversible", urged anti-apartheid groups to end armed struggle, and banned Anglican clergy from belonging to political parties.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=316}} Many clergy were angry that the latter was being imposed without consultation, although Tutu defended it, stating that priests affiliating with political parties would prove divisive, particularly amid growing inter-party violence.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=320–321}} In March, violence broke out between supporters of the ANC and of [[Inkatha Freedom Party|Inkatha]] in [[kwaZulu]]; Tutu joined the SACC delegation in talks with Mandela, de Klerk, and Inkatha leader [[Mangosuthu Buthelezi]] in [[Ulundi]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=317}} Church leaders urged Mandela and Buthelezi to hold a joint rally to quell the violence.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=319}} Although Tutu's relationship with Buthelezi had always been strained, particularly due to Tutu's opposition to Buthelezi's collaboration in the government's [[Bantustan]] system, Tutu repeatedly visited Buthelezi to encourage his involvement in the democratic process.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=318–319}} As the ANC-Inkatha violence spread from [[kwaZulu]] into the [[Transvaal Province|Transvaal]], Tutu toured affected townships in [[Witwatersrand]],{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=137|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=321–322}} later meeting with victims of the [[Sebokeng]] and [[Boipatong massacre]]s.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1pp=137–139|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=323, 329}} Like many activists, Tutu believed a "[[Third Force (South Africa)|third force]]" was stoking tensions between the ANC and Inkatha; it later emerged that intelligence agencies were supplying Inkatha with weapons to weaken the ANC's negotiating position.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=138|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=325}} Unlike some ANC figures, Tutu never accused de Klerk of personal complicity in this.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=325–326}} In November 1990, Tutu organised a "summit" at Bishopscourt attended by both church and black political leaders in which he encouraged the latter to call on their supporters to avoid violence and allow free political campaigning.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=138|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=328}} After the [[South African Communist Party]] leader [[Chris Hani]] was assassinated, Tutu spoke at Hani's funeral outside Soweto.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=140|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=333–334}} Experiencing physical exhaustion and ill-health,{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=327}} Tutu then undertook a four-month sabbatical at [[Emory University]]'s Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=138|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=329}} Tutu was exhilarated by the prospect of South Africa transforming towards universal suffrage via a negotiated transition rather than civil war.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=315}} He allowed his face to be used on posters encouraging people to vote.{{sfn|Gish|2004|p=142}} When the [[South African general election, 1994|April 1994 multi-racial general election]] took place, Tutu was visibly exuberant, telling reporters that "we are on cloud nine".{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=142|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=338}} He voted in Cape Town's [[Gugulethu]] township.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=142|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=338}} The ANC won the election and Mandela was declared president, heading a government of national unity.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=143|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=339}} Tutu attended Mandela's inauguration ceremony; he had planned its religious component, insisting that Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Hindu leaders all take part.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=338–339}} ====International affairs==== Tutu also turned his attention to foreign events. In 1987, he gave the keynote speech at the [[All Africa Conference of Churches]] (AACC) in [[Lomé]], Togo, calling on churches to champion the oppressed throughout Africa; he stated that "it pains us to have to admit that there is less freedom and personal liberty in most of Africa now then there was during the much-maligned colonial days."{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=347–348}} Elected president of the AACC, he worked closely with general-secretary José Belo over the next decade.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=130|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=375}} In 1989 they visited Zaire to encourage the country's churches to distance themselves from Seko's government.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=130|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=375}} In 1994, he and Belo visited war-torn Liberia; they met [[Charles Taylor (Liberian politician)|Charles Taylor]], but Tutu did not trust his promise of a ceasefire.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=376–377}} In 1995, Mandela sent Tutu to Nigeria to meet with military leader [[Sani Abacha]] to request the release of imprisoned politicians [[Moshood Abiola]] and [[Olusegun Obasanjo]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=377}} In July 1995, he visited Rwanda a year after the [[Rwandan genocide|genocide]], preaching to 10,000 people in [[Kigali]], calling for justice to be tempered with mercy towards the [[Hutus]] who had orchestrated the genocide.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=377–378}} Tutu also travelled to other parts of world, for instance spending March 1989 in Panama and Nicaragua.{{sfn|Gish|2004|p=130}} Tutu spoke about the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]], arguing that Israel's treatment of [[Palestinians]] was reminiscent of South African apartheid.<ref>{{cite web |date=29 April 2002 |title=Apartheid in the Holy Land |url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/apr/29/comment |access-date=26 December 2021 |website=The Guardian }}</ref>{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=384}} He also criticised Israel's arms sales to South Africa, wondering how the Jewish state could co-operate with a government containing Nazi sympathisers.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=382–383, 384}} At the same time, Tutu recognised Israel's right to exist. In 1989, he visited [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] leader [[Yasser Arafat]] in Cairo, urging him to accept Israel's existence.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=385}} In the same year, during a speech in New York City, Tutu observed Israel had a "right to territorial integrity and fundamental security", but criticised Israel's complicity in the [[Sabra and Shatila massacre]] and condemned Israel's support for the apartheid regime in South Africa.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=129|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=383}} Tutu called for a [[State of Palestine|Palestinian state]],{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=382}} and emphasised that his criticisms were of the Israeli government rather than of Jews.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=388}} At the invitation of Palestinian bishop [[Samir Kafity]], he undertook a Christmas pilgrimage to [[Jerusalem]], where he gave a sermon near [[Bethlehem]], in which he called for a [[two-state solution]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=384, 386}} On his 1989 trip, he laid a wreath at the [[Yad Vashem]] Holocaust memorial and gave a sermon on the importance of forgiving the perpetrators of [[the Holocaust]];{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=386–387}}<ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=28 December 1989 |title=Jews Stunned by Tutu's Suggestion Holocaust Perpetrators Be Forgiven |url=https://www.jta.org/archive/jews-stunned-by-tutus-suggestion-holocaust-perpetrators-be-forgiven |access-date=26 December 2021 |publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency }}</ref> the sermon drew criticism from Jewish groups around the world.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=387}} Jewish anger was exacerbated by Tutu's attempts to evade accusations of [[anti-Semitism]] through comments such as "my dentist is a Dr. Cohen".{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=385}} Tutu also spoke out regarding [[the Troubles]] in Northern Ireland. At the [[Lambeth Conference]] of 1988, he backed a resolution condemning the use of violence by all sides; Tutu believed that [[Irish republicans]] had not exhausted peaceful means of bringing about change and should not resort to armed struggle.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=381}} Three years later, he gave a televised service from [[Dublin]]'s [[Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin|Christ Church Cathedral]], calling for negotiations between all factions.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=381}} He visited [[Belfast]] in 1998 and again in 2001.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=382}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page