"Ma Teresa joined the mob. And is happy with her full-time job."
-Primitive Radio Gods
Mother Teresa is a revered figure in Catholicism for ministering to the dying in Calcutta. Her work is the gold standard for selfless work. The problem is that is might all be bullshit. Ministering to the dying is not the same as caring for them. A young boy died in her care because she refused to give him a round of antibiotics. Her operation did not distinguish between curable and incurable. However, she went to a New York hospital for a heart condition. Her concern was for her life and most people were kept in the dark about her true nature. She viewed suffering as her greatest gift to the world as it brought humans closer to the sufferings of Jesus. Excuse me? Since when did a mere mortal play the role of inflicting suffering upon others for their own good? Sounds a bit like a sociopath to me. The super bonus is the Catholic Church defends her. It is immoral to make people suffer to push your product-material, immaterial and otherwise. Painkillers were banned from her station because the people need to be more Christ like.
What displeases me the most is the fundraising efforts. She went to Haiti during the Papa Doc reign of terror and accepted money from Charles Keating. These people were so corrupt and yet she took their money with high praise. When criticism was brought up, she ignored it. She needed the money to build nunneries and other buildings that were clearly devoid of God. Hmmm...new building or alleviating suffering....should not have even been a question.
These poor people had nowhere else to go. She had a steady stream of unwitting people to punish with her fanticism. No one cares about the poor unless it makes them look good. Hence the rally of celebrity supporters who loved a good photo op and the ignorant bliss of not knowing exactly what they were funding. Say cheese!
Mother Theresa was once a revered figure for me and yes it can be argued that she was a product of her time, but purposely inflicting suffering on others for your own religious purposes is just wrong. I would have expected a woman of good to care for the suffering, but not make their lives worse. It just goes to show that all humans, no matter how celebrated, are deeply flawed. My suggestion is to seek a relationship with whatever you believe is out there on your own terms because a human ego is quite like the mob:once you try to get out, they will pull you back in.
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Stim
old new lefty
Algis Kemezys
Mimetalker
jackie2
Geraint Isitt
Salon.com
Comments
What the heck is it with religion and inflicting pain, anyway? Has there ever been one that doesn't do this?
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Caesar's and to God what is God's ... His name was Jesus. So where is the stealth of rhetoric when you need it ...
Thanks for making a solid point and helping the people see what is there, without enough light -- which you heartily bring. R >>>>>>>
The truly pious ones are kind, generous and they do good--usually anonymously--because they believe it is the right thing to do. What you describe here is the wicked witch of the west. You have the truth on your side. R
Does that make her the saint she was so rushed by the church to become? Probably not, but it also doesn't make her the devil.
She said poor people need to accept their lot in life, and that the suffering of the poor brought them closer to Christ.
In India, with the Cast System working against them, she was probably right. You think making your way into a higher income bracket is tough in America, try doing it in India. At a certain point, one needs to accept their position in the culture and work with it.
The nuns at her missionaries lacked medical training and supplies and she could have put more doctors on staff in the facilities she ran in lieu of building more of them, but no one criticizes Mother Teresa, or anyone on staff in her missionaries, of being uncaring or cruel...except you and Christopher Hitchens, perhaps.
You should have focused on the "Baptism of the dying" stuff and her accelerated and abbreviated ascension into the ranks of the Catholic Saints.
The Keating thing is legit, but there's an easy way to justify it - dirty money does good deeds just as easily as clean money does.
Seriously, there's a lot of legit criticism of Mother Teresa to be found out there, but her sadism isn't part of it.
Calm-the Church has always politics until now. How tragic to lose your power after so many centuries. Once people stopped believing in fore and brimstone, their power receded.
Thoth- Tragic isn't it?
XY-Ma T was not Indian, hence she choose to enforce the caste system she was not raised. There was no excuse for that, she was not raised with that culturalistic belief. Who is she to choose suffering over compassion?
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true , and a good argument for cultivating a 'soul mate'
and living and loving and growing weary and wary
and way way gone over him/her.
mama teresa was not in the most
what she was seen or felt or known to be
but that applies to all of us, yes?