Desmond Tutu was considered the moral conscience of South Africa.
The Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, also known as “Arka”, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, an uncompromising opponent of apartheid, and an activist for racial justice and LGBT rights, has died in South Africa.
About It is reported by The Associated Press.
It is noted that the clergyman peacefully passed away on Sunday, December 26, at the Oasis Nursing Center in Cape Town. He was 90 years old. It is indicated that in 1997 Tutu was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and since 2015 he has been hospitalized several times.
Prior to Tutu's funeral in Cape Town, a seven-day mourning is planned, including two days of farewell, an ecumenical service and an Anglican funeral mass at St. George's Cathedral.
On Sunday, South Africans, world leaders and people around the world mourned the death of the archbishop believed “moral consciousness” of the country.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, in particular, said about “another chapter of sorrow in the country's farewell to the generation of prominent South Africans who bequeathed to us a free South Africa.”
“From the sidewalks of resistance in South Africa to cathedral pulpits, places of worship for peace and the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, Arka has established itself as a non-denominational, inclusive champion of universal human rights,” said the country's leader.
Aix -US President Barack Obama described Tutu as “a moral compass for me and many others.”
“Ecumenical spirit, Archbishop Tutu was a fan of the struggle for liberation and justice in his country, but also worried about injustice everywhere. He never lost his mischievous sense of humor and willingness to find humanity in his opponents,” said the former American leader.
< p> And the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet and friend of Tutu the Dalai Lama noted that the life of the activist was “completely devoted to serving his brothers and sisters for the common good.” “He was a real humanist,” he stressed.
Tutu worked passionately, tirelessly and nonviolently to topple apartheid, the brutal regime of oppression of the black majority that continued in South Africa for several decades and ended only in 1994.
A cheerful, outspoken clergyman, first became the first black bishop of Johannesburg, and then – the Anglican archbishop of Cape Town.
“Arch” became a prominent figure in the history of his country, and the Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela, After becoming President of South Africa in 1994, he appointed Tutu head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that uncovered the crimes of apartheid.
