June 13, 2016
Last December, Mpho Tutu van Furth, daughter of Desmond Tutu, married the woman she loved. As a result, she had to relinquish her Anglican clergy license. Having been ordained in the United States, she is still considered a priest in the Episcopal Church, which recognizes same-sex marriage. But within the Anglican Church in South Africa, where she lives, she is no longer considered a member of the clergy. Recently, she has been speaking about her feelings on the topic. In a June 9, 2016 interview with the BBC NewsHour, she said, “The reality is, not only do we have gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual— people of every description—sitting in our pews. To be perfectly honest, we have all of those people standing in our pulpits as well. And yet very often they sit in fear in the pews, and they stand in fear in the pulpits, because they are not free to fully own who they are and who they love.”
Watch the three and a half minute interview on BBC video. (You can also watch and read about it here.)
Related
For more about Mpho Tutu van Furth’s story, see her talk about her marriage as part of a panel at the Skoll World Forum in April, 2016
You may also want to read these two stories from the Guardian:
“Desmnd Tutu’s Daughter Leaves Clergy after Marrying Gay Partner” (May 24, 2016)
“Desmond Tutu’s Daughter: ‘Painful’ to give up ministry after marrying a woman” (June 9, 2016)
