I am not an afterthought I am not an accident. Desmond Tutu More Quotes by Desmond Tutu More Quotes From Desmond Tutu He's a tremendous breath of fresh air. The things he [Pope Francis] has done in a short period of time: the fact that he does not live in a huge papal mansion and just dropped by in the dining room where ordinary people have meals. You think of his background, where he didn't use limousines in South America, that he used public transport. I'm so, so thrilled that he is there at this crucial moment in the history of our world. Desmond Tutu our-worldairthinking I have seen firsthand how injustice gets overlooked when the victims are powerless or vulnerable, when they have no one to speak up for them and no means of representing themselves to a higher authority. Animals are in precisely that position. Unless we are mindful of their interests and speak out loudly on their behalf, abuse and cruelty go unchallenged. Desmond Tutu speaks-outanimalmean Forgiving and being reconciled to our enemies or our loved ones are not about pretending that things are other than they are. It is not about patting one another on the back and turning a blind eye to the wrong. True reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the hurt, the truth. It could even sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking but in the end it is worthwhile, because in the end only an honest confrontation with reality can bring real healing. Superficial reconciliation can bring only superficial healing. Desmond Tutu realhurthealing I'm absolutely, utterly, and completely certain that God wouldn't be homophobic. I'd much rather go to hell - I really would much rather go to hell - than go to a homophobic heaven. Desmond Tutu wisdomleadershipclass Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a Western language... It is to say, 'My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in what is yours.' Desmond Tutu onenessubuntuhumanity Is Zionism racism? I would say yes. It's a policy that to me looks like it has very many parallels with racism. The effect is the same. Whether you call it that or not is in a sense irrelevant. Desmond Tutu israelracismlooks People of conscience need to break their ties with corporations financing the injustice of climate change. Desmond Tutu tiesbusinesspeople It is quite exhilarating to speak about a God who has an incredible bias, a notorious bias in favor of the downtrodden. You look at Exodus and the Israelites' escape from a bottomless pit. God is not evenhanded. God is biased up to his eyebrows. Desmond Tutu pitseyebrowslooks Without memory, there is no healing. Without forgiveness, there is no future. Desmond Tutu wisdomfunmemories I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights. Desmond Tutu compassiontablesrights You know when ubuntu is there, and it is obvious when it is absent. It has to do with what it means to be truly human, to know that you are bound up with others in the bundle of life. Desmond Tutu empathyubuntumean Israel will never get true security and safety through oppressing another people. A true peace can ultimately be built only on justice. We condemn the violence of suicide bombers, and we condemn the corruption of young minds taught hatred; but we also condemn the violence of military incursions in the occupied lands, and the inhumanity that won't let ambulances reach the injured. Desmond Tutu landmilitarysuicide It is our moral obligation to give every child the very best education possible. Desmond Tutu moralgivingchildren The abolition of the death penalty is making us a civilized society. It shows we actually do mean business when we say we have reverence for life. Desmond Tutu reverence-for-lifedeath-penaltymean You have to understand that the Bible is really a library of books and it has different categories of material. There are certain parts which you have to say no to. The Bible accepted slavery. St Paul said women should not speak in church at all and there are people who have used that to say women should not be ordained. There are many things that you shouldn't accept. Desmond Tutu churchbookpeople The pressure to succeed has a lot to do with why people overstep the line. It is a peculiar weakness of western culture where we have made a fetish of success. Desmond Tutu western-cultureweaknesspeople True peace must be anchored in justice and an unwavering commitment to universal rights for all humans, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender, national origin or any other identity attribute. Desmond Tutu ethnicityrightscommitment Inclusive, good-quality education is a foundation for dynamic and equitable societies. Desmond Tutu equitablefoundationquality If we have loved well while we were alive, there is life after death here-our love will go on for generations. Desmond Tutu generationsgoes-onlove When you go to the Holy Land and see what's being done to the Palestinians at checkpoints, for us, it's the kind of thing we experienced in South Africa. Whether you want to say Israel practices apartheid is immaterial. They are doing things, given their history, you think, "Do you remember what happened to you?" Then they clobber you and say, "You are anti-Semitic." Desmond Tutu landpracticethinking
