[1][2] Beetge began a career in the commercial world, becoming, in his late 20s, company secretary of ICI (a computer consultancy) in South Africa.
[2] Beetge served the worldwide Anglican Communion with distinction as co-chairman of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission (IARCCUM).
Archbishop Thabo Makgoba characterised him as "an outstanding and exemplary leader” of the church.
[2] In England he was remembered as an advocate of Christian unity and a champion of the poor and those living with HIV/AIDS.
The then Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said following Beetge’s death that "The Anglican church worldwide [had] lost an exceptional man, warm, intelligent, utterly dedicated, imaginative and that many had 'lost a deeply valued friend'.