Mother Teresa: Is She a Fraud or a Saint?

Anjez Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, often known as Mother Teresa, was one of the most significant members of the Catholic Church both while she was living and after her death.

She was appreciated by Catholics and non-Christians alike for her efforts in Calcutta, India's poorest area, to alleviate poverty and assist the oppressed.

The numerous accolades in her trophy cabinet, which include the Ramon Magsaysay Peace Prize and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, solidified her reputation as someone who works only for the benefit of the afflicted.

Even now, when her name is spoken, the image of a devout woman with the best intentions and a smile that welcomed everyone into her grace comes to mind.

The reality, however, could not be at all like this impression. Over the years, a lot of individuals have questioned Mother Teresa's acts and motivations, believing that they glorified people's suffering.

This is a thorough dive into the shady side of Saint Mother Teresa, from her questionable actions in the Missionaries of Charity to her murky management of the funds given to her by similarly dubious individuals.

Hell's Angel.

The first of many critiques of Teresa's work began to surface in the 1994 documentary "Hell's Angel."

A volunteer in Teresa's missionary mission was responsible for leading the documentary. This indicated that the assertions being presented had some basis in fact. The cleanliness of the hospitals and nursing homes and food pantries was harshly criticized in the documentary.

It was alleged through several eyewitness accounts that there was no consideration for the safety of terminally sick people when Mother Teresa was keeping an eye on them. Reusing the same needles for a variety of different patients who were undergoing therapy was one example of this disrespect.

Since no sterilizing was involved in the procedure, the risk of infection was relatively high. Surprisingly, these malpractices occurred near individuals with HIV/AIDS who were already immunocompromised.

Another eyewitness alleged that none of the employees at these facilities had medical training and was incompetent in dealing with patients who were already accepting their impending demise.

Clearly, Teresa didn't genuinely care about these folks; instead, she exploited them to enhance her reputation as sympathetic.

Was there just inadequate funding?

Many people would assume that since the hospital wards were located in a developing nation like India, their poor conditions were caused by a lack of funding.

This assertion is untrue, though, as Mother Teresa raised more than $30 million on her own from international benefactors. There was more than enough cash on hand to keep everything running correctly. And according to the reports, only 7% of the funds were used for the poor; the remaining funds are a mystery to date.

Instead, there were no attempts to improve the people's conditions.

It is because Teresa was concerned about her persona rather than the actual cool water with which the sick were forced to wash that she and the other missionaries refused to install water heaters at specific sites.

Donald McIntyre went undercover to work for Teresa at one of her hospitals and nursing homes and saw the same negligence and cruelty. According to his claims, children and the mentally ill were frequently restrained with ropes and clothing so they could be fed or kept still.

These blatant human rights abuses were dismissed and never connected to Mother Teresa's image of holiness.

Friends with Influence?

Mother Teresa indeed associated with the wrong kind of people for someone revered in Christian literature. Regardless of their behaviour, she was rumoured to have established friends with anyone who gave money to her cause.

Teresa accepted gifts and medals from those responsible for the widespread oppression of Christian communities worldwide. This includes US President Ronald Reagan, suspected of orchestrating the mass execution of Catholic nuns and the archbishop of San Salvador during the Cold War.

This was incredibly hypocritical, coming from someone who had devoted her life to protecting lives. She also connected to influential business people like Charles Keating, whose shady loan tactics led to his eventual conviction for fraud and racketeering. This demonstrated Teresa's tendency toward money-making (which, by the way, was not even utilized to improve the lives of the sick) rather than genuine generosity.

A saviour or a fraudster?

Pope Francis, I posthumously bestowed Teresa with the title of Saint in 2016, one of the highest honours for priests and nuns, and her life was canonized in the Roman Catholic Church.

A person must accomplish two well-known miracles that the Catholic Church would recognize and accept to earn the title of Saint. The two miracles Teresa worked on took place in 1998 and 2008. The first was Monica Besra, a Bengali lady who claimed that after praying to Mother Teresa, her illness was cured by a tumour. The Church publicly recognized this as a miracle in 2002.

However, according to several sources, including one from her husband, Monica was rescued by Teresa's constant therapy more so than Monica was. Numerous medical papers also supported this, although these claims were eventually withdrawn.

It appears that the miraculous rather than the science underlying benign tumours is what the Catholic Church is most concerned with. After Teresa's passing in 1997, a Brazilian guy with numerous brain tumours reported another miracle in 2008.

The Catholic Church finished its investigation in seven days, and Pope Francis later declared Mother Teresa a saint.

Life of Mother Teresa: A Grey Area

Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta dedicated her life to serving the sick and the impoverished. Her years of adversity indicate that she wanted to develop a story of aiding others.

Despite this, Mother Teresa's selflessness was not always clear-cut; in light of the numerous eyewitness accounts and adverse criticism her deeds have received, it is easy to state that her life was far from ideal as many people would have you believe.