I carried Bishop Tutu's luggage. It was very heavy! Thereby hangs a tale. With Tutu's death memories of the time I was with Tutu came back to me. It was in the mid-80s and apartheid was still the rule in South Africa where Tutu lived. Here is the story of my connection to the Archbishop.
During my years in Davenport I convened the Quad-Cities, (Davenport and Bettendorf, IA; Rock Island and Moline, IL) chapter of Bread For The World (BFW). The local BFW was a part of consortium of social justice agencies that cooperated in giving an annual award to person who had done much for peace and justice. The Social Action Office of the Catholic Diocese of Davenport was a part of that group. The local award was called The Pacem in Terris Award, modeled after the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award which is a Catholic peace award which has been given annually since 1964, in commemoration of the 1963 encyclical letter Pacem in terris (Peace on Earth) of Pope John XXIII.
A condition of the local award stipulated that the recipient would receive it in person. It is helpful to have friends in high places. Wanting to give Tutu the award the issue of his presence in the Quad Cities was an issue. The representatives from the Diocesan Social Action Office went to their bishop, Bishop Gerald O'Keeffe, Diocese Of Davenport. Bishop O'Keefe talked to the Episcopalian Bishop of Iowa, who lived in Davenport. He used his Anglican connections to contact Archbishop Tutu. Tutu replied he'd love to stop in the Quad-Cities on his way to a meeting in Washington, D.C. Sometimes it pays to aim high. 😀
To be continued in tomorrow's blog.
godt nytt år
Al
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