Anglicans Hail Tutu as Nobel Laureate
Episcopal News Service. October 18, 1984 [84198]
NEW YORK (DPS, Oct. 16) -- The news that Desmond Mpilo Tutu, Anglican bishop and vigorous foe of South Africa's racist oppression, is the winner of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize caused a joyful peal of bells here and a heartfelt thanksgiving throughout the Anglican Communion.
Tutu learned of his selection early Tuesday morning when a Norwegian diplomat arrived on the campus of General Theological Seminary where Tutu is in residence as visiting professor in Anglican Studies. The bishop and the envoy were escorted through an overflow crowd that had gathered in the seminary chapel for a service of prayer and thanksgiving.
In announcing the award, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee of the Norwegian Parliament summed up the revulsion much of the world toward South Africa's institutional racism: "Through the award of this year's peace prize, the Committee wishes to direct attention to the non-violent struggle for liberation to which Desmond Tutu belongs, a struggle in which black and white South Africans unite to bring their country out of conflict and crisis."
"It is the Committee's wish that the Peace Prize now awarded to Desmond Tutu should be regarded not only as a gesture of support to him and to the South African Council of Churches of which he is leader, but also to all individuals and groups in South Africa who, with their concern for human dignity, fraternity and democracy, incite the admiration of the world."
In a press conference at the seminary, Tutu said that he and his wife were "still pinching" themselves even as they made plans to return to South Africa to "go and celebrate with the people." While Tutu conceded that the award was not likely to move the minority regime in Pretoria to ease the systematic oppression of the black majority, he did say that it would be "tremendous for the morale of the black people. In the face of the new constitution, the awful unemployment, it is a kind of sacrament, a wonderful symbol.
"I was told yesterday that a black congregation was asked on Sunday to 'please pray for Bishop Tutu that he wins the prize.' So you see that, through and through, the award is one for all of us, and I hope that includes the whites who also want the kind of society of which we dream."
On the occasions when South Africa has allowed him to travel -- he has often had his passport withheld or had to travel under limited documents -- he has been consistent in chiding the Reagan administration for its policy of "constructive engagement" with the Botha government, and he did so again saying "The policy has done nothing. Really. It has made the party more comfortable. We don't want them to be comfortable. We want them to move!"
A deeply spiritual man, Tutu often delivers his message of God's love for all people with an almost impish sense of humor that only occasionaly turns waspish. Told once that an American banker had said if they did not support the Pretoria regime through loans someone else would, Tutu replied: "That's ridiculous. That is like saying if I don't rape your wife someone else will. So I might as well! The moral turpitude of that argument is horrendous."
Throughout his ministry -- which has included service as a seminary teacher, parish priest, dean of Johannesburg and bishop of Lesotho -- Tutu's message has been consistent and clear. "Our struggle," he told a congregation at New York's Church of the Intercession in 1981, "is as much to free the oppressor as the oppressed. If whites can accept that they are of infinite value before God, they won't want to behave like bullies."
Although Tutu has never advocated disinvestment by U.S. firms operating in South Africa and has been as strong in his condemnation of terrorist violence as police oppression, he has been the repeated target of government investigation, has many times had his passport confiscated, and, with his wife, has been jailed while protesting injustice.
Throughout his struggle, Tutu has had strong consistent support from the Anglican Communion, with Presiding Bishop John M. Allin of the Episcopal Church and Archbishop of Canterbury Robert A. K. Runcie in the lead. Using diplomatic channels, investment pressure and personal intervention, Church leaders have sought to win freedom of movement and speech for Tutu. Both men were elated at the award.
Reached in El Paso, Texas, Allin noted: "The selection comes as no surprise to those of us in the Christian community who have known of his tireless and personally sacrificial efforts in the cause of peace over the past years. Bishop Tutu has presented the concern for peace to the world through clear and concise rhetoric, as well as through strong and decisive action. He is properly honored in being so recognized in this important pursuit for the benefit of all humankind."
Runcie commented from Lambeth Palace that "The award truly reflects what I have always known about Desmond Tutu. He and his colleagues have been tireless workers for peace who have attempted to create middle ground in a polarized situation. They have sometimes paid a heavy price for this. This is a happy recognition of his deep Christian commitment. I am delighted for him and for Leah, his wife, and for their children."
The joy of the Christian community at learning of this weighty affirmation of Tutu's ministry was echoed not only by fellow prelates, but by the students with whom he is in daily contact as a visiting seminary professor. Hearing the chapel bells pealing out Easter hymns on Tuesday morning, the entire community gathered to applaud Tutu, sing "Now Thank We All Our God" with him and hear seminary Dean James Fenhagen pray: "We give you thanks that the compassion and thirst for justice which you have given to him has been recognized by others as signs of your peace. Continue in him, we pray, the good work that you have begun, and let the recognition given to him be a sign of hope and a source of courage to oppressed people everywhere."
Reaction around the United States was also enthusiastic with many editorials echoing the Prize Committee's efforts to call the South African government to account. As Tutu himself predicted, that regime has been silent -- almost sullenly so according to editorial comment.
Speaking about the role of the Pretoria government, the Washington Post commented: "President Botha can easily denounce the bishop and his Nobel Prize. How much better it would be for all South Africans, not least whites, if he could bring himself to speak of the bishop and his prize in a way that indicated some understanding of the moral fervor of the man and the torment that the policy of apartheid brings not only to South African blacks but to people everywhere. That torment and Desmond Tutu's fervor to end it are what the award of the Nobel prize is all about."