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Desmond Tutu

58 quotes

“Apartheid is as evil, as immoral, as un-Christian, in my view, as Nazism. And in my view, the Reagan administration’s support and collaboration with it is equally immoral, evil and totally un-Christian, without remainder. (Washington, D.C. 1984)”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1931 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1931-2021) on Apartheid, War, Palestine, Guantánamo, Climate Crisis & More, Democracy Now!, December 27, 2021
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Unexpected News : Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes (1984) by Robert McAfee Brown, p. 19
“I am fifty-two years of age. I am a bishop in the Anglican Church, and a few people might be constrained to say that I was reasonably responsible. In the land of my birth I cannot vote, whereas a young person of eighteen can vote. And why? Because he or she possesses that wonderful biological attribute — a white skin.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Guardian Weekly [London] (8 April 1984)
“Be nice to the whites, they need you to rediscover their humanity.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in New York Times (19 October 1984)
“I am a leader by default, only because nature does not allow a vacuum.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Christian Science Monitor (20 December 1984)
“History, like beauty, depends largely on the beholder, so when you read that, for example, David Livingstone discovered the Victoria Falls, you might be forgiven for thinking that there was nobody around the Falls until Livingstone arrived on the scene.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hope and Suffering: Sermons and Speeches (1984)
“Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hope and Suffering: Sermons and Speeches (1984)
“Children are a wonderful gift. They have an extraordinary capacity to see into the heart of things and to expose sham and humbug for what they are.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1984 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "The Words of Desmond Tutu" (1984)
“For goodness sake, will they hear, will white people hear what we are trying to say? Please, all we are asking you to do is to recognize that we are humans, too.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The New York Times (3 January 1985)
“When a pile of cups is tottering on the edge of the table and you warn that they will crash to the ground, in South Africa you are blamed when that happens.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The New York Times (3 January 1985)
“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 (1931–2021) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Today, NBC TV (9 January 1985)
“Those who invest in South Africa should not think they are doing us a favor; they are here for what they get out of our cheap and abundant labor, and they should know that they are buttressing one of the most vicious systems.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted by L.A. Mayor Tom Bradley in letter to the editor Los Angeles Times (13 May 1985)
“A person is a person because he recognizes others as persons.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address at his enthronement as Anglican archbishop of Cape Town (7 September 1986)
“You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address at his enthronement as Anglican archbishop of Cape Town (7 September 1986)
“We don't want apartheid liberalized. We want it dismantled. You can't improve something that is intrinsically evil.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech (1985) as quoted in Equality, Volume 1, Issue 1 (1989)
“We who advocate peace are becoming an irrelevance when we speak peace. The government speaks rubber bullets, live bullets, tear gas, police dogs, detention, and death.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Sunday Times Magazine (8 June 1986).
“At home in South Africa I have sometimes said in big meetings where you have black and white together: 'Raise your hands!' Then I have said: 'Move your hands,' and I've said 'Look at your hands - different colors representing different people. You are the Rainbow People of God.'”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Sermon in Tromsø, Norway (5 December 1991)
“It was relatively easy, we now realize, to categorize countries and nations. You knew who your enemies were and whom you could count on as collaborators and friends. And even more importantly, you had ready-made scapegoats to take the blame when things were going wrong.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1995 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech entitled Freedom and Tolerance (June 1995), Cape Town Press Club
“There are different kinds of justice. Retributive justice is largely Western. The African understanding is far more restorative - not so much to punish as to redress or restore a balance that has been knocked askew.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Recovering from Apartheid" at The New Yorker (18 November 1996)
“Resentment and anger are bad for your blood pressure and your digestion.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Truth and reconciliation" at BBC Focus on Africa (January-March 2000)
“Without forgiveness there can be no future for a relationship between individuals or within and between nations.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Truth and reconciliation" at BBC Focus on Africa (January-March 2000)
“South Africa, so utterly improbably, is a beacon of hope in a dark and troubled world.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Truth and reconciliation" at BBC Focus on Africa (January-March 2000)
“[T]here is always the possibility of change. If it happened in South Africa, why can't it happen anywhere?”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Archbishop urges battle with racism" (18 February 2002), by Sabrina L. Miller, Chicago Tribune, Illinois
“People marched and demonstrated, and the Berlin Wall fell, and communism was ended. People marched and demonstrated, and apartheid ended. And democracy and freedom were born. And now people are marching, and people are demonstrating, because people are saying no to war!”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The just war theory says you need a legitimate authority to declare and to wage war. Only the United Nations is that legitimate authority. Any other war is immoral. The just war says, “Have you exhausted all possible peaceful means?” And the world says, “No, we haven’t yet!” And any war before you have exhausted all possible peaceful means is immoral. And those who want to wage war against Iraq must know it would be an immoral war.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You know, those who are going to be killed in Iraq are not collateral damage. They are human beings of flesh and blood. They are children. They are mothers. They are brothers. They are grandfathers. You know what? They are our sisters and brothers, for we belong in one family. We are members of one family, God’s family, the human family. And how can we say we want to drop bombs on our sisters and brothers, on our children?”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We said no to communism. We said no to apartheid. We said no to injustice. We said no to oppression. And we said yes to freedom, yes to democracy. Now I ask you: What do we say to war? CROWD: No! (February 15, 2003 speaking before a massive rally in New York to oppose the imminent U.S. invasion of Iraq).”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 1931 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1931-2021) on Apartheid, War, Palestine, Guantánamo, Climate Crisis & More, Democracy Now!, December 27, 2021
“God has such a deep reverence for our freedom that he'd rather let us freely go to Hell than be compelled to go to Heaven.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Beyers Naudé memorial lecture (15 August 2003)
“We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in The Mammoth Book of Zingers, Quips, and One-Liners (2004) by Geoff Tibballs, p. 255
“We refuse to be treated as the doormat for the government to wipe its jackboots on.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Profile: Archbishop Desmond Tutu" at BBC (24 May 2004)
“This family has no outsiders. Everyone is an insider. When Jesus said, "I, if I am lifted up, will draw..." Did he say, "I will draw some"? "I will draw some, and tough luck for the others"? He said, "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all." All! All! All! – Black, white, yellow; rich, poor; clever, not so clever; beautiful, not so beautiful. All! All! It is radical. All! Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, Bush – all! All! All are to be held in this incredible embrace. Gay, lesbian, so-called "straight;" all! All! All are to be held in the incredible embrace of the love that won’t let us go.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: And God Smiles," sermon preached at All Saints Church, Pasadena, California (6 November 2005)
“Isn't it sad, that in a time when we face so many devastating problems – poverty, HIV/AIDS, war and conflict – that in our Communion we should be investing so much time and energy on disagreement about sexual orientation? [The Communion, which] "used to be known for embodying the attribute of comprehensiveness, of inclusiveness, where we were meant to accommodate all and diverse views, saying we may differ in our theology but we belong together as sisters and brothers now seems hell-bent on excommunicating one another. God must look on and God must weep.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Tutu calls on Anglicans to accept gay bishop" in Spero News (14 November 2005)
“None of us can say that had I been exposed to the same circumstances and conditions that I wouldn't have turned out the same way. Perpetrators don't have horns, don't have tails, they are as ordinary looking as you and I.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "The Go-Between" at BBC News (27 February 2006)
“I give great thanks to God that he has created a Dalai Lama. Do you really think, as some have argued, that God will be saying: "You know, that guy, the Dalai Lama, is not bad. What a pity he's not a Christian"? I don't think that is the case — because, you see, God is not a Christian.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Dalai Lama honours Tintin and Tutu" at BBC News (2 June 2006)
“He has a childlike, boyish, impish, mischievousness. And I have to try and make him behave properly, like a holy man!”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Dalai Lama honours Tintin and Tutu" at BBC News (2 June 2006)
“We used to say to the apartheid government: you may have the guns, you may have all this power, but you have already lost. Come: join the winning side. His Holiness and the Tibetan people are on the winning side.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Dalai Lama honours Tintin and Tutu" at BBC News (2 June 2006)
“I don't preach a social gospel; I preach the Gospel, period. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is concerned for the whole person. When people were hungry, Jesus didn't say, "Now is that political or social?" He said, "I feed you." Because the good news to a hungry person is bread.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in God’s Mission in the World : An Ecumenical Christian Study Guide on Global Poverty and the Millennium Development Goals (2006) by The Episcopal Church Office of Government Relations and the Evangelical Luth…
“What has happened to us? It seems as if we have perverted our freedom, our rights into license, into being irresponsible. Perhaps we did not realise just how apartheid has damaged us so that we seem to have lost our sense of right and wrong.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Desmond Tutu turns 75" at News24 (6 October 2006)
“Whether Jews like it or not, they are a peculiar people. They can't ever hope to be judged by the same standards which are used for other people.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Bishop Tutu's sordid history of Jew-hatred", Jersusalem Post (2 June 2012)
“I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this. I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place. I am as passionate about this campaign as I ever was about apartheid. For me, it is at the same level.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Desmond Tutu Would Prefer Hell Over A Homophobic Heaven" at The Huffington Post (26 July 2013)
“With my life closer to its end than its beginning, I wish to help give people dignity in dying. Just as I have argued firmly for compassion and fairness in life, I believe that terminally ill people should be treated with the same compassion and fairness when it comes to their deaths.Dying people should have the right to choose how and when they leave Mother Earth. I believe that, alongside the wonderful palliative care that exists, their choices should include a dignified assisted death.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: ** Quoted in "Desmond Tutu: I want right to end my life through assisted dying", The Guardian (7 Oct 2016).
“Forgiveness is one of the key ideas in this world. Forgiveness is not just some nebulous, vague idea that one can easily dismiss. It has to do with uniting people through practical politics. Without forgiveness there is no future.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Forgiveness is taking seriously the awfulness of what has happened when you are treated unfairly. It is opening the door for the other person to have a chance to begin again. Without forgiveness, resentment builds in us, a resentment which turns into hostility and anger. Hatred eats away at our well-being.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Forgiveness is an absolute necessity for continued human existence.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“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 (1931–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We in South Africa had a relatively peaceful transition. If our madness could end as it did, it must be possible to do the same everywhere else in the world. If peace could come to South Africa, surely it can come to the Holy Land.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People are scared in this country, to say wrong is wrong because the Jewish lobby is powerful — very powerful. Well, so what? For goodness sake, this is God's world! We live in a moral universe. The apartheid government was very powerful, but today it no longer exists. Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Pinochet, Milosevic, and Idi Amin were all powerful, but in the end they bit the dust.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Injustice and oppression will never prevail. Those who are powerful have to remember the litmus test that God gives to the powerful: what is your treatment of the poor, the hungry, the voiceless? And on the basis of that, God passes judgment. We should put out a clarion call to the government of the people of Israel, to the Palestinian people and say: peace is possible, peace based on justice is possible. We will do all we can to assist you to achieve this peace, because it is God's dream, and you will be able to live amicably together as sisters and brothers.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Sometimes you want to whisper in God's ear, "God, we know you are in charge, but why don't you make it slightly more obvious?”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You and I are created for transcendence, laughter, caring. God deliberately did not make the world perfect, for God is looking for you and me to be fellow workers with God.”
Desmond Tutu (1931–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source