Pope, Catholic Bishops in Southern Africa Send Condolences for Death of Desmond Tutu

On their part, SACBC members have expressed their “fraternal message of condolences” to the wife of the late Archbishop, the family, and the Anglican Church.

“The SACBC would like to convey a fraternal message of condolences to Mrs. Leah Tutu, the family and the Anglican Church over the death of the Late Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, Desmond Mpilo Tutu,” SACBC members say in their message published on their website.

The late Archbishop, the Catholic Bishops say, “will be remembered for his immense spiritual contribution to the liberation and democracy of South Africa, the reason for which he was a joint laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize. His quest for justice continued when he was the Chairperson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and beyond.”

Archbishop Tutu, a contemporary of Nelson Mandela, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his efforts to end apartheid in South Africa.

In 1995, Mandela, then South Africa’s President, named Archbishop Tutu president of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, responsible for gathering evidence of apartheid-era crimes.

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The prominent Anglican Archbishop retired from public life in 2010.

“As the Catholic Church in Southern Africa continues to remember the birth of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,” SACBC members who comprise Catholic Bishops in Botswana, Eswatini, and South Africa say, their leadership “wishes Archbishop Tutu’s soul a peaceful rest through the mercy of the same Jesus Christ.”

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