Archbishop Tutu discussed at length his groundbreaking work in heading the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that was set up to bring activists of both sides of the apartheid divide to confess their wrong-doings, and, where possible, to express remorse for their acts that resulted in the deaths or physical harm to their former opponents. He movingly recalled the scores of instances when the families of murdered victims, both black and white, were able to find closure and peace after hearing how their loved ones had died and seeing where their bodies were buried. In a few cases where bodies had been dug up, relatives recognised victims by items of clothing or shoes that they had bought them.

Asked by Dummett what he had learned from those dramatic disclosures, the Archbishop paused briefly before replying. The enormous capacity man possessed for inflicting evil on his fellow man had astonished him greatly. But, that was not all. He had also discovered, that man’s capacity for performing heroic, good, and wonderful deeds was equally enormous. And he had been exhilarated and deeply inspired by this discovery.

We, too, are greatly moved and heartened by Archbishop Tutu’s words. He is one man of God, who has demonstrated his own capacity to look past the human externals and narrow political goals to the broader vision of human liberation. Well do we recall his acts of courage in the 1980s South Africa, when Nelson Mandela was languishing in prison while the white separatists made life as difficult as possible for the functionaries of the African National Congress (ANC). In those tense times when Winnie Mandela was telling her supporters that with their tyres and matches they will liberate South Africa, Archbishop Tutu’s was the only black voice raised against the horrific practice of “necklacing” individuals suspected to be informers for the white regime. Once, a desperate man fleeing the wrath of a mob bent on killing him by placing a burning tyre around his neck, flung himself at the feet of Tutu and begged for mercy. The Archbishop rebuked the horde, and the man’s life was spared.

We can also recall a reported moment in the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in which an Afrikaner faced the relatives of the black man he had killed under the apartheid system. The Afrikaner expressed sorrow for the deed, and he also asked the forgiveness of the relatives. Archbishop Tutu was reported as being so moved by the enfolding drama of atonement that he asked all present to be quiet and reflect for a while for “this is something holy”.

In his interview with the BBC journalist, the Reverend Tutu remembered that the focus of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was not “retributive justice” but “restorative justice”. This, we believe, is one of many lessons the rest of the world could well learn from Archbishop Tutu.