When Tutu was honored four years later with the Templeton Prize, regarded as the most significant award in the field of spirituality and religion, he credited the people of South Africa, as he had with his Nobel win.
“(W)hen you are in a crowd and you stand out from the crowd, it’s usually because you are being carried on the shoulders of others,” he said in 2013.
Tutu was not without his critics, including those who protested commencement speaker invitations from U.S. colleges, in part because of his support of Palestinians and criticism of Israel.
In a 2013 interview with RNS, when the Desmond Tutu Center at Butler University and Christian Theological Seminary was announced, Tutu blamed God for his outspokenness on issues such as gay rights and the Middle East.
“I don’t think, ‘What do I want to do today? I want to speak up on gay rights,’” he said. “No. It’s God catching me by my neck. I wish I could keep quiet about the plight of the Palestinians. I can’t! The God who was there and showed that we should become free is the God described in the Scriptures as the same yesterday, today and forever.”
Vanderbilt Divinity School Dean Emilie Townes said Tutu, with his “refusal to bend to injustice,” became a pastor to the world.
“He has been such a bright light for hope and justice and love for so many of us,” said Townes. “It’s hard to think of a world without him. But one of the things that he taught so many of us is we have to find that bright light within ourselves and to take the work he has begun forward.”
Tutu, who was lauded as the conscience of South Africa, lived a life of moral strength, vision and hope that allowed him to serve his church and his people faithfully and at times with peace and humor even in the face of persecution.
In doing his life’s work — opposing apartheid — Tutu knew the cost of
engagement: “If you are doing God’s work, it’s his job. He will jolly well have to look after you. And no one is indispensable.”
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