Tutu’s daughter forced to quit

Tutu’s daughter forced to quit clergy after marrying her partner

Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu-Van Furth was told that her licence would have to be revoked after marrying her partner. So she decided to quit instead.

Tutu’s daughter forced to quit

Archbishop Emiritus Desmond Tutu’s daughter was forced to quit her duties as a priest South Africa’s Anglican church after she married a woman, she told AFP on Tuesday.

Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu-van Furth is no longer allowed to preside at Holy Communion, weddings, baptisms or funerals. She handed over her licence because the church does not recognise gay marriage.

“The canon (law) of the South African Church states that marriage is between one man and one woman,” Tutu-van Furth said in an email.

“After my marriage… the Bishop of Saldanha Bay was advised that he must revoke my licence. I offered to return my licence rather than require that he take it from me.”

She married her partner Marceline Tutu-van Furth in the Netherlands last year