Apartheid foe calls for unity

Apartheid is a ''heresy'' which is fundamentally at variance with the teachings of Jesus. This was the ''sermon'' preached over the weekend at the World Council of Churches convocation by controversial South African Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu. The articulate black churchman's appearance at the WCC conference was brief but it has turned out to be one of the high points for delegates, reports Monitor correspondent Curtis J. Sitomer.

Bishop Tutu has been jailed several times by the South African government for expressing his views on apartheid, the country's policy of racial separation. He was initially denied permission to attend the WCC meeting, but in a sudden reversal of policy, the government last month issued him a temporary passport to visit Canada, the US, and New Zealand.

The Anglican bishop says the policy of separatism in his country will change when blacks and whites learn that their ''value is intrinsic because God created them'' - not because of the color of their skin or the worth of their possessions. ''It's far easier to be a Christian in South African than in the US or Canada,'' Bishop Tutu holds. ''The issues are so clear cut.''