Fr. Michael Lapsley is an Anglican missionary priest and a social activist. He is the winner of the 2022 Nivano Peace Prize. The Nivano Peace Prize Committee selects individuals and organizations that make significant contributions to inter-religious cooperation for the promotion of world peace. This year’s award winner, Fr. La is a distinguished priest and human rights activist. He lost both his hands and his left eye in a letter bombing 30 years ago and has been calling for worldwide healing and reconciliation. Read the life of Fr. Michael Lapsley.
It has happened 30 years ago. Fr. Michael lived in Harare, Zimbabwe at the time. He went to the living room to read the letters he had received. Unusually, he had two religious magazines that day. One in Afrikaans and the other in English. He opened what was in English. At the time of opening, the magazine and he both exploded. Both hands were burnt and scalded. He was unable to see or hear what happened. He was thrown backward by the impact of the explosion. Father cried out in pain. His consciousness faded with excruciating pain.
It was only when he arrived at the hospital that he realized the extent of his injury and what it meant. He lost both his hands. The left eye was completely lost. Eardrums are broken. “I wish I was dead because I’m still alive but with a disability. I have never seen anyone who lost both hands, so I had no idea how to get back to my life,” says Fr. Michael.
But months later he began to recover physically. He was mentally ready to adapt to new lifestyles. It was supported by those around him. “Prayer, love and support around the world have helped me to move from ‘evil’ to ‘good’.” When he describes it, the word ‘evil’ is not just a letter bomb, it is not the work of the sender, but the reason for doing so. Although its source has not been confirmed, Fr. Michael Lapsley is sure. The incident that angered them about this happened while he was in Africa. In 1973 he arrived in Durban, South Africa as a graduate student. He soon became chaplain to university students who were at the peak of their oppression by racism. In 1976, he began speaking out on behalf of students who had been shot, detained, and tortured. It was the year of the Soweto Uprising that sparked protests across the country. He was expelled from the country in September 1976 as the National Chaplain of Anglican Students. He later lived in Los Angeles, became a member of the African National Congress while in exile, and remained chaplain. During this time he traveled across the world. He exhorted the faithful to oppose apartheid and support the liberation struggle.
In 1990, the ANC leader Nelson Mandela was released from prison, the Civil Corporation bureau, a pro-apartheid organization, is sending out a letter bomb three months later Mandela’s release. He likens the loss of any part of the body to the loss of a loved one. “When someone close to you dies, grief will be a part of your life”.
He leads a normal life today with prosthetic hands with hooks. These ‘hook hands’ have become a part of his personality today. “Thirty years ago prosthetic hands had only two options. One was a hook like this, and the other was similar in shape to real arms. I chose the more useful hook.”
He gives God all the credit for being able to accept his ‘new hands’ and one-eyed vision. It was because of his deep faith in God that says Fr. Michael.
“If I could meet them, I would ask them, ‘What are you doing now?’ If the answer to the question ‘Are you still making letter bombs’ is ‘No, I’m serving in a hospital now’ or ‘I am serving something that benefits others, I would be more than happy to forgive them,” said Fr. Michael.
Today he is happy that his attackers were not punished. Because that’s why he’s able to travel around the world now. He visits people who are injured, disabled, or mentally disturbed by the repression of the Government. He organizes seminars, lectures and discussions. There he tells his own story and gives others the opportunity to share their experiences.
“When others share their experiences, especially when it is opened up in front of a public community, a great healing process takes place through it. It helps to make them stronger,” Fr. Michael reveals.
On June 15, 2019, Pope Francis received him in a private audience and shared his experiences with the Pope. The award distribution ceremony will be held on 14 June 2022, in Tokyo, Japan.