23 Jul 07
Originally posted by doodinthemoodNot saint material. She only did all that good because she refused to speak up about the underlying issues, which in effect guaranteed her the chance to keep doing good and being the hero. Now Oscar Romero would get my vote!
Thread to discuss the reasonably controversial issue of whether you think Mother Teresa was good or bad. 3,2,1,go.
23 Jul 07
Originally posted by doodinthemoodFrom Wikipedia:
Thread to discuss the reasonably controversial issue of whether you think Mother Teresa was good or bad. 3,2,1,go.
In 1992, Hitchens wrote an article[14] for the US left-wing journal The Nation in which he called Mother Teresa "The Ghoul of Calcutta". He later narrated and co-wrote Hell's Angel, a documentary broadcast 8 November 1994 on Channel 4 in Britain, and expanded his criticism in a 1995 book, The Missionary Position. He despised the unquestioning adoration of the vast majority of Western commentators, which he felt judged her by her reputation, not by her actions. His particular qualms were with what he perceived as her lack of treatment for people, particularly children, placed in her care; her strong religious views on contraception and abortion, the latter of which she described as "the greatest destroyer of peace today"[15]; and her "acceptance" of poverty, which took the form of encouraging the poor to embrace their poverty.
Hitchens asserts that Mother Teresa behaved like a political opportunist who adopted the guise of a saint in order to raise money to spread an extreme and aggressive version of Catholicism. He also condemns her for using contributions to open convents in 150 countries rather than establishing a teaching hospital, the latter being what he implies donors expected her to do with their gifts.
He also criticized her for what he considers to be less-than-honorable financial dealings: the pursuit and acceptance of donations from third world dictators, large donations accepted from Charles Keating, who was later convicted of fraud, racketeering and conspiracy; and the allocation of these donations away from treatment and towards furthering what Hitchens considered "fundamentalist" views. Hitchens's writings have earned him the ire of Roman Catholics; Brent Bozell, for example, called Hitchens and Aroup Chatterjee "notoriously vicious anti-Catholics"[16].
During Mother Teresa's beatification process, Hitchens was called by the Vatican to argue the case against her. He testified in Washington, the role previously known as the "Devil's Advocate", although John Paul II had previously abolished that position. Hitchens has satirically referred to his work in the case as the person chosen "to represent the devil pro bono"
24 Jul 07
Originally posted by pawnhandlerat least she did her deeds away from the limelight!!!
Not saint material. She only did all that good because she refused to speak up about the underlying issues, which in effect guaranteed her the chance to keep doing good and being the hero. Now Oscar Romero would get my vote!
25 Jul 07
Originally posted by stokerInteresting. So you're saying that if God exists, and Theresa has a place by
if she is in heaven with god then our earthly ways do not matter
his side now, then what actions we take here on earth doesn't matter? We'll
end up next to God pretty much whatever we do, as long as we do it in Gods
name. Right?
25 Jul 07
The real question is:
"Which is more important, doing good or saving souls."
Mother Teresa apparently felt that saving souls was more important and was willing to allow people to suffer for the sake of spreading catholicism.
Of course one must realize that she probably did more good than bad and a lot more good than the average catholic nun.