When we see the face of a child, we think of the future. We think of their dreams about what they might become, and what they might accomplish. Desmond Tutu on future
You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. Desmond Tutu on god
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 on god
But God can only smile because only God can know what is coming next. Desmond Tutu on god
God is not upset that Gandhi was not a Christian, because God is not a Christian! All of God's children and their different faiths help us to realize the immensity of God. Desmond Tutu on god
The God who existed before any religion counts on you to make the oneness of the human family known and celebrated. Desmond Tutu on god
In my country of South Africa, we struggled for years against the evil system of apartheid that divided human beings, children of the same God, by racial classification and then denied many of them fundamental human rights. Desmond Tutu on god
Isn't it amazing that we are all made in God's image, and yet there is so much diversity among his people? Desmond Tutu on god
Do your little bit of good where you are its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. Desmond Tutu on good
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 on history
In its history, Europe has committed so many massacres and horrors that it should bow its own head in shame. Desmond Tutu on history
Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness. Desmond Tutu on hope
Your ordinary acts of love and hope point to the extraordinary promise that every human life is of inestimable value. Desmond Tutu on hope
I am a leader by default, only because nature does not allow a vacuum. Desmond Tutu on nature
If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. Desmond Tutu on peace
Peace comes when you talk to the guy you most hate. And that's where the courage of a leader comes, because when you sit down with your enemy, you as a leader must already have very considerable confidence from your own constituency. Desmond Tutu on peace
In South Africa, we could not have achieved our freedom and just peace without the help of people around the world, who through the use of non-violent means, such as boycotts and divestment, encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the Apartheid regime. Desmond Tutu on peace
The minute you got the Nobel Peace Prize, things that I said yesterday, with nobody paying too much attention, I say the same things after I got it - oh! It was quite crucial for people, and it helped our morale because apartheid did look invincible. Desmond Tutu on peace
In many ways, when you're a Nobel peace laureate, you have an obligation to humankind, to society. Desmond Tutu on peace
I don't think I've ever felt that same kind of peace, the kind of serenity that I felt after acknowledging that maybe I was going to die of this TB. Desmond Tutu on peace