Anglican Delegation to Interview Archbishop Tutu on his “endorsement” of Abortion Clinic

A delegation of Anglican clergy has been appointed to interview Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu about a “report in the media that suggests” that he “has given his support to a clinic that offers abortion on request”.

The decision follows a resolution by the Anglican Diocesan Synod in Port Elizabeth on Saturday, to send a delegation to Tutu for his comment on the report which was published in Gateway News on December 14, 2011. The three-yearly Synod met at The St John The Baptist Church, in Walmer, last week, to deal with various church-related matters.

Tutu’s reported endorsement of Marie Stopes Clinic (a chain of abortion clinics) was brought to the attention of the Synod in a motion tabled by Reverend Lawrie Wilmot, in which he proposed that the Synod should publicly disassociate itself from the implied Anglican approval that Tutu had given to the practice of abortion on request. He also proposed that the Synod should reaffirm its 2005 resolution that abortion on request was murder.

Wilmot and Arch-Deacon David Stansbury, who seconded the motion, both emphasised that while they personally respected Tutu they believed it was important for the Synod to distance itself from his stance on abortion. Wilmot showed the Synod a photograph of a billboard that had been taken in the Marie Stopes Clinic in central Cape Town. The billboard featured a photograph of Tutu below the clinic’s slogan “Choice, Not Chance”. It also displayed the following message: “Marie Stopes South Africa is doing invaluable work. Through their programmes they are raising awareness and understanding of sexual and reproductive health. They are empowering people and by providing information and access to sustainable high quality services that are giving people the opportunity to make informed decisions about their future and a choice. –Signed Archbishop Desmond Tutu”

Wilmot said a public relations representative of the clinic had told him that the billboard had been used exclusively at a Marie Stopes strategic planning meeting last year. He said that he had not been able to get comment from Tutu on the billboard issue.

During debate on the motion various speakers expressed high regard for Tutu, and said they were reluctant to support the motion without first hearing the views of the former head of the Anglican Church in South Africa on his reported support for Marie Stopes.

The Synod finally voted in favour of an amended motion which reads: “The Synod takes note of a report in the media that suggests that the Archbishop Emeritus, Desmond Tutu, has given his support to a clinic that offers abortion on request

Resolves:

1. To confirm the resolution passed at its Synod in 1995, relating to our Diocese’s stand on abortion and sanctity of life.
2. Respectfully to request the Bishop to send a delegation to the Archbishop Emeritus, Desmond Tutu, for his comment on the report.”

Wilmot confirmed in an interview that he is a member of the delegation that has been appointed to interview Tutu.

 

Archbishop Desmond Tutu: Women Must Take Over

After the uprisings in the Arab world, Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu said on Wednesday it was now time for women to have their revolution and banish men to the margins.

Speaking at a gathering of the world’s political and financial elite in Davos, the vast majority of them men, Tutu said women had long been locked out of policy-making – and the world had paid the price.

“Let us re-align forces, let us ensure that women have a significant part in the decision-making process… we have been excluding women,” said the former archbishop of Cape Town.

Telling the event’s compere Klaus Schwab that he might need a security escort from the podium, Tutu said he was about to upset much of his audience.

“What we need is a revolution led by women. I think women ought to be saying to us men: ‘You have made a mess, just get out and let us in’,” he added…

Source

Liberal Anglicanism at its best.

 

Archbishop Tutu: ANC Worse than Apartheid Government

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has slammed the ANC government for not granting the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, a visa:

“Our government is worse than the apartheid government, because at least you were expecting it from the apartheid government,” he said in a news conference on the government’s failure to grant Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama a visa.

“We were expecting we would have a government that was sensitive to sentiments of our Constitution,” Tutu said.

“The trouble is that the ANC on the whole reckons that the freedom that we enjoy is due to them. They reckon everyone else is just a sideline.”

Tutu, who shouted and shook his finger as he spoke, said President Jacob Zuma did not represent him.

“Hey Mr Zuma, you and your government don’t represent me. You represent your own interests.

“I am warning you out of love. I am warning you like I warned the nationalists that one day we will start praying for the defeat of the ANC government. You are disgraceful.”

South Africans will pray for the downfall of the ANC like they did with the apartheid government, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in Cape Town.

“We will pray as we prayed for downfall of apartheid government, we will pray for downfall of a government that misrepresents us,” Tutu shouted at a news briefing on the government’s failure to grant the Tibetan leader a visa.

“The nationalists had a huge majority. They ate dust,” Tutu said while shaking his finger.

He said the ANC had a large majority, but so did former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, both of whom were overthrown in popular uprisings.

“Mubarak had a large majority. Gaddafi had a large majority. Watch out. I am warning you. Watch out.”…

Tutu also had strong words for President Jacob Zuma.

He said he once listened to one of Zuma’s state of the nation speeches as the president paid tribute to everyone, apart from religious leaders, in bringing about democracy.

“I listened to this president paying tribute to all kinds of people who had helped bring about democracy in this country,” Tutu said.

“This president did not mention a single religious leader. Let the ANC know that they can not airbrush us out.”

Scathing!