Debate About Mother Teresa

(6-minute read) – I heard so much debate about Mother Teresa. Everyone seemed to have a strong opinion ranging from “one of the greatest saints” to “vile person who loved poverty more than poor people.” I didn’t have a strong opinion.

But I opened my Facebook feed and the first two posts were about mother Teresa.

I turned on the local radio talk show later and guess what. The topic was Mother Teresa.

So, I thought, I should do some research and form an opinion. After about eight hours of online research and a lot of reflection on my theology and philosophy studies, as well as my own experience with suffering, I came to a conclusion. But, it must be noted, I always hold myself open to uncertainty for certainty is foolish… maybe.

My conclusion: Mother Teresa is as deserving of being called a saint as anyone could possibly be… probably.

Here’s a brief summary of why I concluded this.

Her philosophy

The first thing I noted was that Mother Teresa views suffering in the Christian tradition of kenosis. This is a central tradition of resolutely divesting oneself of every claim of self-interest free from the dictates of ego and its preferences so as to be able to live Christ-like.

Suffering is a gift in this tradition because it offers the opportunity to transcend false self and find meaning in an eternally loving reality. It is an opportunity to take up the cross every day and follow in Christ’s footsteps. That would have been central to Mother Teresa’s teaching to her patients and her missionaries.

To the secular humanist or the atheist this is delusional stuff. In their diametrically opposite world view, there is no reality beyond the here and now. We should be focussing only on the real challenge of making sure human potential is met here and now. Anyone who places a value on poverty and suffering per se, is part of the problem in society.

So hence the first major misunderstanding of Mother Teresa’s life and mission. And the first major reason for criticising her. People thought she loved to see suffering in some sadistic way. As a follower of Christ in the tradition I’ve described above, I doubt that.

Her understanding of the spiritual dimension of suffering helped keep her energised to do the work of helping those who were suffering. She was able to serve in a kind of detached way that did not depend on her mission’s success but rather on the value of service and love in themselves. She believed in the phenomenological sanctification brought by suffering to the sufferer. And so she could tolerate the most terrible conditions. The conditions were vile, but not her.

The sheer success of her order

Her order and affiliates continue to expand. By 2010 there were five thousand Missionary of Charity sisters, serving in 766 houses in 137 countries, and another 377 active brothers serving in sixty-eight houses in twenty-one countries. The Lay Missionaries of Charity, now twenty-five years old, are also growing, operating in fifty countries.

Surely the order would have dwindled if the criticisms leveled against her facilities were validated or persisted.

The accounts of volunteers

I don’t like to quote anecdotal evidence after just eight hours of research, but what does seem good evidence is that there are many more records of positive experiences of volunteers than negative ones.

The negative volunteers came mostly from western societies with idealised views on charity. In many cases it seems they may have been shocked to see the horrors of the “untouchables”. Mother Teresa’s homes cared for the “untouchables” of Indian society. Whatever these people suffered inside her walls would have been like paradise compared to what they suffered on the streets. It seems many of the volunteers that came away disillusioned did not understand this context.

The sources of criticism

The main sources of criticism seem to almost exclusively emanate from one original source – Christopher Hitchens. Whenever I come across a theory or opinion that has so little independent, objective corroboration I get suspicious.

In our world of search engine optimisation and easy access to the internet for so many millions, these types of uncorroborated opinions often tend to spring up. People feed off them, add to them without new data of their own, and they grow. And those that don’t take the time to rigorously assess them are easily sucked into the digital virus.

It’s an internet phenomenon. We all have an opinion and by god we will express it. And those that gain momentum become the truth.

The nature of criticism

The criticisms of the standards of medical care seem to come from British visitors comparing them to British Hospices. But standards in the west cannot always be applied to the developing world. It is idealistic to do so. Only those with the luxury of sitting in the best facilities in the west seem to insist that the same standards must apply everywhere. Sometimes it’s not possible. Getting some help, even if not to western standards is better than nothing at all.

As an engineer I once covered a case study on different perceptions of risk depending on socio-economic standards. A risk assessment was conducted on a new industrial planted to be opened near a village in India. The risks of exposure to dangerous pollutants came out too high by American standards. So, the outcome of the assessment was that the plant had to be moved a further one hundred kilometres from the village.

The people in the village protested so much that the risk assessment was overturned and the plant went ahead in its original location. They felt the risk was worth taking because for them the plant was first and foremost an opportunity to feed their children – to survive starvation. Travelling an extra one hundred kilometres was not financially viable. The villagers did not regard risk like Americans because they had hungry bellies and first and foremost they had to make a living out of the new plant.

Mother Teresa’s reaction to criticism

Mother Teresa reportedly never shied away from addressing any criticism. She apparently taught those around her, “If someone criticizes you, first ask yourself, is it right? If he is right, apologize and change, and the issue is resolved. If he is not right, clarify and correct, but if that does not work, take up the unjust accusations with both hands and offer it to Jesus in union with his suffering, because he was slandered by all sides.”

This sounds like a fairly modest and wise approach. It does not sound arrogant or careless.

But more significant than any anecdotal evidence is the longevity of the Missionaries of Charity that Mother Teresa founded. If she had not instilled a culture of modestly seeking to improve, her order would surely have been closed down… and we would surely not be debating today her worthiness as a saint.

So, she is a saint… probably. But what is a saint anyway? A debate for another time, maybe.