As a young minister and head of the South African Council of Churches in the 1970s and 80s, Desmond Tutu fought to end Apartheid's legacy of discrimination and human rights abuses. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, and two years later became Archbishop of Cape Town, head of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. Upon the dismantling of the Apartheid system in 1994, President Nelson Mandela made Tutu chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a body set up to move past the injustices of that dark chapter in South Africa's history. His new book, Made for Goodness, laying out his belief in mankind's infinite capacity for compassion, is out March 8.
Q: After all you've seen and endured, are you really as optimistic as your book, Made for Goodness, says you are?
DT: I'm not optimistic, no. I'm quite different. I'm hopeful. I am a prisoner of hope. In the world, you have very bad people--Hitler, Idi Amin--and they look like they are going to win. All of them--all of them--have bitten the dust.
Q: Africa has been given a single story line, where all we hear of from the media is hunger, civil war and corruption. How can younger generations correct this misperception?
DT: Well, part of it is true. You have bad governments. But we have good governments too. We have the world's icon--Nelson Mandela. But as I always say, Europe gives me a great deal of hope. They produced a Holocaust. They produced two world wars. They produced the gulags. Sometimes people forget that in South Africa, we've been free for only about 16 years, and they're expecting miracles from us. We're not doing too badly.
Q: Do you support the appointment of gay and lesbian clergy?
DT: Of course. If I don't support them, why support the appointment of any other person? Their s*xuality is as much a part of who they are as my race is. They don't choose it. I don't choose it. Two of my chaplains when I was Archbishop were gay. One is now a bishop, and the other is the dean of a cathedral.
Q: Have you ever had doubts about your faith?
DT: Doubts? No. Anger with God? Yes. Plenty of that. I've remonstrated with God quite frequently and said, "What the heck are you up to? Why are you letting these oppressors get away with this injustice?" But doubting that God is good? That God is love? No.
Q: What advice do you have for those trying to rebuild Haiti?
DT: First, I would say to them, Thank you for showing so much of your compassion. But I would say, especially to the people of Haiti, Your country has been destroyed, but it is also a chance to make a new beginning. Have a government that cares for the welfare of its people and not for lining its own pockets. An awful thing has happened, but we can squeeze a benefit out of it.
Q: What achievement are you most proud of?
DT: Becoming a father. The day I was told our son, who was our first, was born, I felt a little like God. Wonderful.
Q: What is your favorite Bible verse, and why?
DT: Romans 5: 8. "Whilst we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." It sums up the Gospel wonderfully. We think we have to impress God so that God could love us. But he says, No, you are loved already, even at your worst.
Q: As chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, did you feel you did enough to help South Africa move past that dark chapter in its history?
DT: Had we not had the commission, South Africa would have gone up in flames. It was not a perfect instrument, but it did a heck of a good job. It lanced the boil. A festering soul was opened and cleansed, and balm was poured on it.
Q: What does Africa need most to begin to make progress?
DT: A fair international economic system. Africa can produce goods, but farmers in Europe and the U.S. are paid subsidies and can sell similar goods at giveaway prices. It wreaks havoc with the economies of poorer countries. It's all stacked very much against Africa. We need fair trade.
Q: What impact will the World Cup have on South Africa?
DT: [They've] built new stadiums. They've improved the infrastructure. They are doing the roads. They are building or improving hotels. Those things are going to remain.
Posted By: Richard Kigel
Sunday, March 14th 2010 at 11:36AM
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