By Albert Thyrniang
Whether holding a child in her arms or embracing an infirm, or administrating a sick person or assisting the destitute, giving a speech or simply beholding her countenance, Mother Theresa conveyed one simple but powerful message – love and compassion. Here words, her works and her life replicated the Creator’s love and compassion to the poor and those in pain. The “living saint” in her life time, was officially declared a saint at the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square on 4th September 2016 (eve her 19th death anniversary) by Pope Francis, 18 years after her death. Her canonization was celebrated by faithful all over the world, including in our own state.
Born as Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in Skopje, now Republic of Macedonia, then part of the Kosovo, on 26 August 1910, she moved to Ireland and later she came to India to work as a teacher in Calcutta. She was a Loreto nun until that “Inspiration day” in 1946. Distressed at the poverty in the ‘City of Joy”, while on a train from Calcutta to Darjeeling she received the “call within a call”. Responding to this call was certainly a conscious action of love to serve the poorest of the poor. With a humble beginning of an open-air school for homeless children, she later moved to slums, visited poor families, washed the sores of children, cared for the ailing old and infirm and nursed the destitute dying of terminal illnesses in her shelter homes.
On October 7, 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from the Vatican to establish her own order. Initially known as the Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese it later came to be popularly known as the “Missionaries of Charity”. The primary task of the international society is to take care of persons who nobody was prepared to look after. Living a demanding life from dawn to dust she and her followers cared for “the unwanted, the unloved, the uncared for.” Inspired by her dedicated and committed life and work, members of her order increased rapidly. By early and mid 1960s, Mother Teresa began to send her Sisters to other parts of India and abroad, the first being Venezuela in 1965. Rome and Tanzania followed and by 1990 her order was present in almost all the seven continents. Even communist countries like the former Soviet Union and Cuba too welcomed her sisters without any reservation.
The needs of the poor prompted Mother Teresa to found the Missionaries of Charity Brothers in 1963, the contemplative branch of the Sisters in 1976, the Contemplative Brothers in 1979, and the Missionaries of Charity Fathers in 1984. Similarly she formed the Co-Workers of Mother Teresa and the Sick and Suffering Co-Workers which included people of different faiths and nationalities with whom she shared her mission of work of love.
The 50 plus years at her adopted home, Calcutta demonstrated God’s mercy and tender love. She manifested God’s immeasurable and tangible compassion to ‘the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the leprous, the unwanted, the unloved, the uncared the sick, homeless, hungry, destitute, abandoned’. Through refugees, former prostitutes, the mentally ill, sick children, lepers, AIDS patients, the aged, she did “something beautiful for God”.
She spread the message of love all over the world. The acceptance speech at the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 was a powerful message of love to the world audience uttered in feeble voice. She said, “I am sure this award is going to bring an understanding love between the rich and the poor. And through this award and through all of us gathered here together, we are want to proclaim the good news to the poor that God loves them, that we love them, that they are somebody to us, that they too have been created by the same loving hand of God, to love and to be loved.”
Her selfless service earned her a Padma Shri in 1962 (India), a Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1962 (Philippines), Pope John XXIII Peace Prize in 1971 (Vatican), Honorary Companion of the Order in 1982 (Australia), Order of Merit in 1983 and 1996 (England and USA respectively), Golden Honour of the Nation in 1994 (Albania), Haitian Legion of Honour, the Balzan Prize for promoting humanity, peace and brotherhood among peoples (1978), the Albert Schweitzer International Prize (1975), the La Storta Medal for Human Service in1976 (University of Scranton in northeastern Pennsylvania), Honorary doctor for social science in 1987 (University of Scranton) and other awards. Thus she was a global figure.
After battling heart problems for many years, Mother Teresa passed away on 5 September 1997 aged 87 and was given a state funeral by the then IK Gujral care-taker government. Buried in the Mother House of the Missionaries of Charity, her tomb quickly became a place of pilgrimage. She became a symbol of compassion, an icon of love and a legend of unwavering service.
Mother Teresa had and still has her critics. Chief among them are the Indian-born physician and writer, Aroup Chatterjee who lives in Britain. Chatterjee had briefly worked in one of Mother Teresa’s homes in Calcutta but turned critic when he decided to investigate into the finances and other practices of Teresa’s order which he details in his book Mother Teresa: The Final Verdict. (2003) Another well-known detractor, Christopher Hitchens produced a documentary, Hell’s Angel who followed it up with the book, The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice.
Criticism of Mother Teresa centers around neglect of medical care given to sick and dying people in the Mother Teresa’s home, claiming virtue in pain and suffering, cozying up to dictators, promoting her efforts to a global media, uncompromised stance on abortion and contraception among others. Individuals and groups like the RSS and other nationalist organization also accused the ‘saint of the gutters’ of conversion. Her elevation to sainthood triggered controversies in India and abroad, some even questioning the authenticity of the two miracles attribute to the Mother. Her canonization was marred in controversies.
The scathing attacks were no deterrence as nearly half a million people attended the canonization of the diminutive nun and the two-hour ceremony transmitted live to audiences worldwide. It is to be remembered that no human is perfect to be free from criticism. Even Jesus himself was a subject of criticism, accusations and condemnation. Mother Teresa’s life and works are certainly open to criticism. There is nothing unusual about it. Secondly, Mother Teresa was a devout member of a particular Church with uncompromising teaching on abortion, contraception, family planning, etc. Being a convinced member she could not take a contrary view. Therefore, criticism of Mother Teresa on these issues is actually criticism of that particular Church. But no one can deny the fact that Mother Teresa worked for alleviating the pain and suffering of mission of the poor.