Desmond Tutu is to withdraw from public life. We'll be all the poorer without his frenetic energy
By Colin Slee, guardian.co.uk
Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu has announced that, from his 79th birthday in October he is to resign from nearly all of his official commitments and withdraw from public life. He has told his friends he wishes to spend more time in reflection and prayer. The only remarkable element of that desire is that he has spent much of his life daily in reflection and prayer.
Desmond Tutu is one of history's extraordinary people as the right man in the right place at the right time. He will be best remembered for his courageous leadership of the Anglican church in South Africa as the spearhead of the fight against apartheid, his bravery in the thick of rioting crowds rescuing people from "necklacing", his conduct of massive funerals and public protests.
