she was no mother theresa
yoel core@rof.net
Fri, 5 Sep 1997 14:19:41 -0600 (00873512381, v01540b13b0361914907c@[209.38.34.194])
THE MISSIONARY POSITION
Mother Teresa in Theory and
Practice
by CHRISTOPHER HITCHINS
Review by Norman Taylor
CHRISTOPHER HITCHINS, a very successful author living in
Washington, has provided many fascinating revelations about the
work of an Albanian nun, Agnes Bojaxhiu, who is better known as
Mother Teresa of Calcutta. He refers to her as being on the fast
track to sainthood whilst dominating a missionary multinational.
He questions the fitness of a very old virgin to adjudicate on the
matters of sex and reproduction, and looks with suspicion at her
genial relations with dictators, corrupt tycoons, and convicted
frauds.
His book provides an extremely interesting exposure of the
Teresa cult. As the emissary of a very determined and very
politicised papacy she is a very successful campaigner on behalf
of her Missionary of Charity organisation with its 400 nuns and
40,000 lay workers, earning the unending gratitude and support
of the Vatican.
Some people worship Mother Teresa and, most unfortunately,
many will support her fanatical campaign against contraception
and abortion. But nobody can ignore the facts that India's
population of nearly one billion is disastrous; its unemployment
is 50%, as is its illiteracy. When Mother Teresa was asked if she
would agree that there are too many children in India she
replied: "I do not agree because God always provides. He provides
for the flowers and the birds, for everything in the world he has
created. And these little children are his life. There never can be
enough." The author remarks, "if it were true that God always
provides, then obviously there would be no need for the
Missionaries of Charity in the first place". So what we see is an
exercise in propaganda for the Vatican's population policy.
Mother Teresa's support seems grotesque; she must know the
suffering and misery caused by this papal policy.
Mother Teresa has been favoured with huge sums of money during
the past 30 years, but patients' illnesses have been wrongly
diagnosed by unqualified sisters and volunteers unable to
distinguish between the curable and incurable . Mother Teresa
prefers providence to planning, and the very strictest economy is
always enforced - much to the detriment of the patient's
interests. It is interesting to note that, despite the enormous
sums involved ($50 million remains in a cheque account in the
Bronx), needles are used over and over again, and are rinsed
under the cold water tap. The nuns' answer to "why are you not
boiling water and sterilizing your needles?" was simple: "There's
no point. There's no time." Perhaps the patients take too long to
die, and hastening death saves money. Cynical as that may be,
Mother Teresa's global income is more than enough to equip
several first class clinics like some of the finest in the West
that she herself has checked into. To a person in the last agonies
of cancer, and suffering unbearable pain, she said with a smile:
"You are suffering like Christ on the cross. So Jesus must be
kissing you." A sign on the wall of the morgue of Mother Teresa's
Home for the Dying reads "I am going to Heaven today".
Mary Loudon, a volunteer in Calcutta, was shocked by what she
saw there. "It looked a bit like the photos of Belsen", she said.
"All patients had shaved heads, there were old stretcher beds, no
chairs, and not much medical care or painkillers". In another
home, despite the existence of huge sums of money: "The sisters
are rarely allowed to spend money on the poor they are trying to
help. Instead they are forced to plead poverty, thus manipulating
generous, credulous people into giving more goods, services and
cash." So great wealth has no good effect on the lives of patients
and volunteers. In a damp house heating remains off throughout
winter and several sisters consequently
got TB. This was stated by a woman who left the
Missionaries of Charity for the same reason she joined it, "a
love of her fellow humans".
Mother Teresa has a San Francisco hostel named The Gift of
Love; it is for homeless men with HIV. They are not allowed to
watch TV or smoke or drink or invite friends, not even when they
are dying, and so, of course, they are exceptionally depressed.
One man said how afraid he was of dying without morphine. It is
hard to find anyone with a good word for The Gift of Love.
Mother Teresa went to Bhopal where thousands were
killed and injured as a result of the Union Carbide
chemical spill; when asked for her advice and counsel,
she said "Forgive, forgive, forgive."
Charles Keating was a notorious American swindler now
serving a 10-year sentence for his part in the Savings and Loans
scandal. He was generous with the money he stole from small
investors. He gave Mother Teresa 1 1/2 million dollars and the
use of his private jet; in return she allowed him to make use of
her prestige on several important occasions and gave him a
personal crucifix. During the course of his trial she wrote to the
court seeking clemency for the conservative Catholic
fundamentalist and notorious thief. It was a suspiciously naive
letter which did nothing to influence the judge . It prompted the
Deputy District Attorney in Los Angeles County to write with
some facts about Keating's crimes, about which Mother Teresa
knew nothing.
After referring to Keating's conviction for defrauding 17
individuals of $900,000 he concluded with this statement "You
urge Judge Ito to look into his heart - as he sentences Charles
Keating - and do what Jesus would do. I submit the same
challenge to you. Ask yourself what Jesus would do if he were
given the fruits of a crime; what Jesus would do if he were in
possession of money which had been stolen; what Jesus would do
if he were being exploited by a thief to ease his conscience. I
submit that Jesus would promptly and unhesitatingly return the
stolen property to its rightful owners. You should do the same.
You have been given money by Mr Keating that he has been
convicted of stealing by fraud. Do not permit him the
"indulgence" he desires. Do not keep the money. Return it to those
who worked for it and earned it! If you contact me I will put you
in direct contact with the rightful owners of the property now in
your possession. Sincerely, Paul W. Turley." Three years later
Turley had received no reply to his letter. Nor can anybody
account for the missing money; saints, it seems, are immune to
audit. This is not the only example of Mother Teresa's
surreptitious attitude to money, nor of her hypocritical
protestations about the beauty of poverty.
This immensely well-researched book is a great credit to its
author. The prospects of Mother Teresa bluffing more millions
has, I hope, been sharply reduced. There are, of course, Catholics
who have worked honestly and selflessly and sacrificed much
without an ulterior motive, but she is not one of them. It would
be reasonable to be suspicious of anyone who is popular with the
like of American crook, Keating, exposed villain, Robert Maxwell,
Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. And when the response to
those responsible for an avoidable disaster is "forgive" we know
that Mother Teresa remains a constant barrier to progress and
justice. Without doubt she is an extremely successful and
shrewd campaigner, but readers seeking for signs of compassion
may find - as I did - that it is secondary to the promotion of
religious dogma. If it is thought that I have revealed too much,
please read the book. There is a lot more damning evidence to
provide us with a reminder that "all is not gold that glitters".