Mother Teresa (born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), was a Roman Catholic nun who started the Missionaries of Charity and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work with people.[2] For over forty years, she took care of needs of those without money, those who were sick, those without parents, and those dying in Calcutta (Kolkata), guided in part by the ideals of Saint Francis of Assisi.
As the Missionaries of Charity grew under Mother's leadership, they expanded their ministry to other countries. By the 1970s she had become internationally well known as an advocate for the poor and helpless, due in part to a movie and book, Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge. She did not think women had the right to have abortions and said "The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me?".[3]
Following her death she was beatified (the first stage of sainthood) by Pope John Paul II and given the titleBlessed Teresa of Calcutta.[4][5]
Criticism
Mother Teresa received criticism over the years, especially in recent years as debate about sex andabortion grew. Christopher Hitchens says that, instead of trying to help the poor, she encouraged them to endure pain and continue to suffer.[6][7] Hitchens also thinks she was against ending poverty and raising the social status of women.[8][9] Hitchens wrote a book on Teresa called The Missionary Position.[10] In an article for Slate, Hitchens writes "MT was not a friend of the poor. She was a friend of poverty. She said that suffering was a gift from God".[11]
References
As the Missionaries of Charity grew under Mother's leadership, they expanded their ministry to other countries. By the 1970s she had become internationally well known as an advocate for the poor and helpless, due in part to a movie and book, Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge. She did not think women had the right to have abortions and said "The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me?".[3]
Following her death she was beatified (the first stage of sainthood) by Pope John Paul II and given the titleBlessed Teresa of Calcutta.[4][5]
Criticism
Mother Teresa received criticism over the years, especially in recent years as debate about sex andabortion grew. Christopher Hitchens says that, instead of trying to help the poor, she encouraged them to endure pain and continue to suffer.[6][7] Hitchens also thinks she was against ending poverty and raising the social status of women.[8][9] Hitchens wrote a book on Teresa called The Missionary Position.[10] In an article for Slate, Hitchens writes "MT was not a friend of the poor. She was a friend of poverty. She said that suffering was a gift from God".[11]
References
PBS Online Newshour (September 5, 1997).Mother Teresa Dies, www.pbs.org. Retrieved August, 2007
"Mother Teresa - The Nobel Peace Prize 1979". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
"The greatest destroyer of peace...". BrainyQuote. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
Associate Press, "Full house for Mother Teresa ceremony" October 14, (2003; retrieved from CNN on May 30, 2007.
"Blessed Mother Teresa," in Encyclopædia Britannica (2007). Retrieved May 30, 2007, fromEncyclopædia Britannica Online
"Was Mother Teresa Evil? - Good and Evil: Empirical Studies". Evil and Good. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
http://evilandgood.wetpaint.com/page/Was+Mother+Teresa+Evil%3F
Hitchens, Christopher (October 20, 2003). "The fanatic, fraudulent Mother Teresa". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
Swomley, John M. (October 1996). "Exposing Mother Teresa". population-security.org. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
Hitchens, Christopher (1995). The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in theory and practice. Verso.ISBN 9781859840542 .
Hitchens, Christopher (October 20, 2003). "The fanatic, fraudulent Mother Teresa". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
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