Who is Mpho Tutu? Daughter of late Desmond Tutu sacrificed Church for love

Mpho Tutu
is one of the four kids of archbishop Desmond Tutu and his wife Nomalizo Leah
Tutu. Earlier a South African priest, Mpho Tutu followed her father’s footsteps to live an
Anglican church life.

Unfortunately, she had to leave her clergy practices
after she made the “hardest decision” of her life and decided to marry
Marceline Van Furth, her long-term Dutch girlfriend. Mpho felt extremely disheartened
after having to leave her priesthood and felt as if a part of her had been
stripped away from her. The couple got married in an intimate ceremony in the Netherlands in December 2015. Her wife Marceline is a paediatric disease
specialist based in Holland, who practices atheism.

Earlier Mpho was married to
a man and gave birth to two kids. Mpho and Marceline have 4 total kids, from
their previous marriages. Soon after her wedding, she
decided to return her priest clergy license as African churches do not permit
same-sex marriages, even though the idea has been legal in South Africa since
2006.

Also Read | Who is Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu, daughter of Desmond Tutu?

Her father though continued to support his
daughter for her marriage, even though the archbishop felt strictly opposed to
homosexuality a few years ago. Years later, Desmond openly advocated for the
LGBTQ community and expressed how deeply he feels about supporting the
community, and he wouldn’t worship a God who is homophobic. He further added
that he feels as strongly about the LGBTQ as he feels about anti-apartheid.

As a child, Mpho
was sure she doesn’t want to follow in her father’s clergyman footsteps. She said
that she spent a lot of time and effort trying to explain why. She felt the
role wasn’t fit for a woman and experienced the same in her later years.

Also Read | World mourns death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, read reactions pouring in

Mpho was also ordained as a priest in Washington DC, USA,
where she can still practice her priesthood regardless of her same-sex marriage.
 Back
in 1976, US’ Episcopal church publicly stated that people who practice homosexuality
are children of God and are equally deserving of love, acceptance, and care by
the church.