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Well wishes pour in as Desmond Tutu turns 85

The clergyman is celebrating his birthday with close friends and family at his home in Cape Town.

FILE: "South African Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. Picture: EWN.
FILE: "South African Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. Picture: EWN.
| 1711 days ago

JOHANNESBURG - Well wishes and tributes continue to pour in from all over the world for Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu on his 85th birthday.

The African National Congress (ANC) has hailed the arch for his brave and critical voice, saying the country is blessed to still benefit from his wisdom.

The clergyman is celebrating his birthday with close friends and family at his home in Cape Town.









As he celebrates his 85th birthday, the Arch has said that when the times comes, he wants the option of an assisted death.

In an opinion piece published in _ The Washington Post_, Tutu said that with his life closer to its end than its beginning, he wishes to help give people dignity in dying.

"Just as I have argued firmly for compassion and fairness in life, I believe that terminally ill people should be treated with the same compassion and fairness when it comes to their deaths. Dying people should have the right to choose how and when they leave Mother Earth. I believe that, alongside the wonderful palliative care that exists, their choices should include a dignified assisted death.

"Today, I myself am even closer to the departures hall than arrivals, so to speak, and my thoughts turn to how I would like to be treated when the time comes. Now more than ever, I feel compelled to lend my voice to this cause.

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