S. Africa's Desmond Tutu cancels travel due to health reasons

USPA News - South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was awarded the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership role in the campaign to end the apartheid, has canceled all his travel plans for the remainder of the year due to a reaction to his cancer treatment. Roger Friedman, a spokesman for the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, said Monday that the 83-year-old archbishop had canceled his upcoming travel plans to undergo a new course of medication to manage prostate cancer, which he has battled for the past 15 years.

It is not clear when Tutu may resume his travel. "Thank you everyone for your concern and prayers," Tutu wrote on his Facebook page. "You may know I canceled my trip to Rome for the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates due to a reaction to a new treatment for my prostate and strengthening my bones. It is benign and these issues are par for the course." Reverend Mpho Tutu said her father had been scheduled to attend the summit in Rome later this week. The Anglican cleric, who is now officially retired but is often referred to as South Africa`s moral guide, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his role as a unifying leader figure in the campaign to end the apartheid in the country. At the time he was the General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches.