# The case against Mother Theresa **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 23, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194 "2010-02-23T23:47:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/81 "2010-02-24T21:43:56Z")
> [@Walmarticus](#): > > First, MT’s hospices and whatnot were fronts for money making schemes. This intrigues me. What did the money she was skimming off the top end up going to? Whoa, that’s probably a rather misleading way of putting it. I know of no reason to think that the Missionaries of Charity hospices etc. were merely “fronts for money making schemes”. After all, Mother Theresa and her Missionaries of Charity had been running those hospices etc., on a very skinny shoestring, for literally decades before the public knew about her or had any interest in contributing large sums of money to her efforts. However, once she **did** become famous and started attracting very large charitable donations, she didn’t apply the increased funds to provide increased services to the poor and sick people she ministered to. As the former Sister of Charity whom I quoted in an earlier post has reported, huge sums of money just sat around in bank accounts while Mother Theresa was still running her organizations on a very austere and ascetic basis. Despite the comments about hypocrisy made by other posters, I haven’t seen evidence that Mother Theresa made it a personal goal to get a soft life for herself while imposing suffering and austerity on others. Sure, when she was old and infirm—and an incredibly lucrative asset for the Church due to her levels of popular fame and goodwill—her superiors in the Church hierarchy would tell her to get this or that checkup or medical treatment, or to fly to this or that city to give speeches, and she’d do what they told her. (All the sources I’ve seen say that she valued subservience and obedience very highly, especially for religious community members and especially within the Church.) But as I noted above, there were decades when she was out there running ministries while she **wasn’t** famous, and I don’t know of any evidence that she pampered herself or the other missionaries in any way inconsistent with her philosophy that suffering and poverty are valuable. So I seriously doubt that Mother Theresa was ever “skimming off the top” of her vast donation revenues any money for selfish purposes of her own. What she did with the money was probably whatever her Church superiors told her to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/82 "2010-02-24T22:06:22Z")
Let’s not gloss over Mother Theresa’s [political advocacy](http://www.salon.com/sept97/news/news3.html) in judging her character. > [@Christopher Hitchens](#): > > the population of the Republic of Ireland went to the polls in a referendum. The single issue was the removal of the constitutional ban on divorce. Ireland is the only country in Europe with such a prohibition, and it is also engaged in serious talks with the Protestant minority who fear clerical control of their lives in a future “power-sharing” agreement. For this reason, most Irish political parties called for a “yes” vote. In the concluding stages of the campaign, which was very closely fought, Mother Teresa intervened to urge that the faithful vote “no.” Ultimately she failed in her goal of keeping divorce outlawed in Ireland, but it makes me think less of her that she wanted to force people (by law) to stay in loveless marriages. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/83 "2010-02-24T22:53:49Z")
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned in this thread is that in 1982, she worked out a temporary cease-fire in Beirut in order to have time to save dozens of children trapped in a hospital. Nonetheless, I’m sure one of our local atheists will soon be along to explain why this was a bad thing. She was hated by a handful of rich people who like to hate people. She was loved by the poor. And she was really hated by Christopher Hitchens, which means that she must have been doing something right. ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/84 "2010-02-24T22:55:38Z")
I have read several books about her, including her own. I don’t get the same feeling about her that is posted by others. She would take gifts given to the Catholic church such as paintings, and sell them to give the money to the poor. When she was found out they were going to kick her out of the church. She pleaded for them to send her to the worse place on earth and they sent her to India. The people she helped were collecting garbage from the city and selling what they found to buy food, some were just eating the garbage. She established schools for the children, she lobbied the city government to pay the people for collecting the garbage and finally won after years of trying. She counseled the men to not beat their wives. She carried sick people to the steps of the hospitals and set there until someone treated the person. She turned down donations from rich people were just patronizing her. She changed the lives of the poor people she served, and when she died the grieving crowds were huge. She had the link below pasted below desk. [[REMOVED BLOG LINK]] I doubt her detractors read anything about her. Let alone her book. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/85 "2010-02-24T22:57:44Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > One thing that hasn’t been mentioned in this thread is that in 1982, she worked out a temporary cease-fire in Beirut in order to have time to save dozens of children trapped in a hospital. Nonetheless, I’m sure one of our local atheists will soon be along to explain why this was a bad thing. People aren’t all either angels or demons. Even a person whose beliefs lead them to mostly do damage can ‘slip up’ and do some amount of good now and then. Thing is though the occasional ups don’t make us forget the downs - and failing to use millions of dollars of charitable contributions in their intended way is pretty damning. Er, I mean -She indoctrinated those Beirut kids to evil christianity! Yeah! ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/86 "2010-02-24T23:09:27Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > One thing that hasn’t been mentioned in this thread is that in 1982, she worked out a temporary cease-fire in Beirut in order to have time to save dozens of children trapped in a hospital. Nonetheless, I’m sure one of our local atheists will soon be along to explain why this was a bad thing. > > She was hated by a handful of rich people who like to hate people. She was loved by the poor. And she was really hated by Christopher Hitchens, which means that she must have been doing something right. What the fuck does"atheist" have to do with fucking anything in this thread? Can you identify anything Hitchens said that wasn’t true? ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/87 "2010-02-24T23:10:12Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > One thing that hasn’t been mentioned in this thread is that in 1982, she worked out a temporary cease-fire in Beirut in order to have time to save dozens of children trapped in a hospital. Nonetheless, I’m sure one of our local atheists will soon be along to explain why this was a bad thing. It **has** been mentioned in this thread, and nobody did claim that it was a bad thing. > [@](#): > > She was hated by a handful of rich people who like to hate people. She was loved by the poor. And she was really hated by Christopher Hitchens, which means that she must have been doing something right. Practically everybody in the West can be considered rich by the standards of the world’s poor. I’m also quite certain Hitchens hates a lot of people. He also tends to make excellent points - and a failure to address good points does not work in your favor. ---
**Author:** ![Keweenaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Keweenaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keweenaw)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/88 "2010-02-24T23:20:45Z")
These are some experiences of individuals who did volunteer work at some of Mother Teresa’s Charity Centers, Orphanages, etc. [http://asia.kidsworldwide.org/experiencesmothert.htm](http://asia.kidsworldwide.org/experiencesmothert.htm) [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/world/asia/26iht-26calcutta.8073173.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/world/asia/26iht-26calcutta.8073173.html) [http://www.essayedge.com/sample-essay\_law5-after.html](http://www.essayedge.com/sample-essay_law5-after.html) > **[Mother Teresa's Orphanage](http://reflectionsfrommaadi.blogspot.com/2009/01/mother-theresas-orphanage.html)** > > On Thursday, I finally had the opportunity to do something I've been hearing about and wanting to do since soon after my arrival here--visit... [http://banglabackchat.blogspot.com/2005/05/mother-teresa-orphanage-in-dhaka.html](http://banglabackchat.blogspot.com/2005/05/mother-teresa-orphanage-in-dhaka.html) > **[Mother Theresa Orphanages | Travel Blog](https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India/Rajasthan/Jodhpur/blog-25640.html)** > > Susan and Bill did something really extraordinary in Agra, the city where the Taj Mahal is located. They wandered from the group, and sought out the [http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/1885/Woman-to-reflect-on-experiences-working-with-Blessed-Mother-Teresa/](http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/1885/Woman-to-reflect-on-experiences-working-with-Blessed-Mother-Teresa/) [http://www.creative-spirit.net/homeless.htm](http://www.creative-spirit.net/homeless.htm) [http://www.pcmoldovann.com/archives/2008/01/27/kyiv-soup-kitchen/](http://www.pcmoldovann.com/archives/2008/01/27/kyiv-soup-kitchen/) > **[Ryan’s Week at the Soup Kitchen](https://niceheart.wordpress.com/2006/04/05/ryans-week-at-the-soup-kitchen/)** > > Visit the post for more. > **[Christmas, Mother Teresa and exploring in Kolkata, West Bengal - India -...](https://journals.worldnomads.com/rickshawalas/post/27702.aspx)** > > Total road distance travelled:   5,255 km Dearest friends and family – assalam alaikum from Bangladesh!! We can’t wait to share with you our most recent adventures and photos (check the photo gallery. We have managed to load some of Ciscos... ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2010, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/89 "2010-02-24T23:44:25Z")
Why don’t you just tell us what your point is. I have no interest in reading a bunch of testimonials. Is there anything in them which refutes the relevant criticisms? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/90 "2010-02-25T00:47:16Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Why don’t you just tell us what your point is. I have no interest in reading a bunch of testimonials. “Interest”? We don’t read cites for their intrinsic “interest”, grasshopper, 😉 we do it to fight the ignorance. And, of course, for the distant possibility of eventual canonization. On to **Keweenaw** ’s cites: [http://asia.kidsworldwide.org/experiencesmothert.htm](http://asia.kidsworldwide.org/experiencesmothert.htm) This one describes a very nice facility providing care to children with disabilities in Tamil Nadu, India. It was named after Mother Theresa upon its founding in 1998, the year after she died, so it’s irrelevant to the issue of her own ministry efforts. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/wo...a.8073173.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/26/wo...a.8073173.html) This one’s a tourist report of a brief volunteer stint in 2007 at Mother Theresa’s home institution in Calcutta, and it appears to confirm existing reports about the institution’s well-meaning but bare-bones approach to helping the poor: > [@](#): > > It’s only 9 a.m. here at Prem Dan, a long-term convalescent facility run by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, but already my fellow volunteers and I are soaked with sweat as we bend over tanks of water, hand-washing laundry for close to one hundred patients. […] > > Kalighat, as it is also known, for the Hindu temple complex with which it is associated, is the hospice for the dying that was the first of the facilities Mother Teresa founded here. It houses perhaps 150 patients in closely spaced beds, with men and women in separate wards. […] > > I meet a Japanese volunteer, Hide, a trim, middle-aged man, who commands the Kalighat dishwashing operation […] at the primitive dishwashing station […] > > I start each morning with 6 a.m. mass at Mother House, where we volunteers sit to one side, cross-legged on the floor, already drenched with perspiration. The nuns, in their white saris, and the priests in their cassocks, suffer silently. A few electric fans stir up the humid air. [http://www.essayedge.com/sample-essay\_law5-after.html](http://www.essayedge.com/sample-essay_law5-after.html) This is a sample law school application essay advertising a commercial essay editing service, which opens with a brief and rather vague description of the alleged applicant’s alleged impressions of alleged volunteer work in one of Mother Theresa’s Calcutta institutions. Puh-lease. This commercial product isn’t evidence of jack-shit beyond the extent to which modern media PR has made Mother Theresa and her facilities the “Hallmark face” of global charity. [http://reflectionsfrommaadi.blogspot](http://reflectionsfrommaadi.blogspot)…orphanage.html Blogpost about a 2009 visit to a “Mother Theresa orphanage” in Cairo, Egypt. Not clear what connection, if any, it has to Mother Theresa’s own work during her lifetime, hence irrelevant to a debate about her personal beliefs and actions. [http://banglabackchat.blogspot.com/2](http://banglabackchat.blogspot.com/2)…-in-dhaka.html Blogpost about a 2005 visit to a “Mother Theresa orphanage” in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Not clear what connection, if any, it has to Mother Theresa’s own work during her lifetime, hence irrelevant to a debate about her personal beliefs and actions. [http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India...log-25640.html](http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India...log-25640.html) Blogpost about a 2005 visit to a “Mother Theresa orphanage” in Agra, India. Not clear what connection, if any, it has to Mother Theresa’s own work during her lifetime, hence irrelevant to a debate about her personal beliefs and actions. Unintentionally amusing in its mischaracterization of Mother Theresa’s own ministry as “serving the despondent leper population in the ghettos of Calcutta” (needless to say, leprosy sufferers were **not** the majority of her patients), and unconsciously inconsistent in noting that India’s “biggest problem continues to be its own population growth” but not questioning the wisdom of supporting anti-contraception Catholic missions in India. [http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/...Mother-Teresa/](http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/...Mother-Teresa/) Announcement of an upcoming speech by someone who actually worked in Mother Theresa’s Calcutta missions starting in 1986, and whose description doesn’t contradict the other reports discussed here: > [@](#): > > “Mother wanted us to come with ‘a joyful willingness to do even the most humble work,’” said Conroy, who split the majority of her time between caring for orphaned children and serving destitute patients in the Home for the Dying. > > This humble work included changing diapers, cleaning maggots from wounds, caring for lepers and holding suffering patients “in their final moments of agony.” [http://www.creative-spirit.net/homeless.htm](http://www.creative-spirit.net/homeless.htm) Blogpost about a 1990 visit to a Missionaries of Charity soup kitchen in Madrid, Spain. Not clear what connection, if any, it has to Mother Theresa’s own work and the institutions that she herself ran. [http://www.pcmoldovann.com/archives/](http://www.pcmoldovann.com/archives/)…-soup-kitchen/ Blogpost about a 2008 visit to a Missionaries of Charity soup kitchen in Kyiv, Ukraine. Not clear what connection, if any, it has to Mother Theresa’s own work during her lifetime, hence irrelevant to a debate about her personal beliefs and actions. [Journey to Honeyville](http://niceheart.wordpress.com/2006/)…-soup-kitchen/ You’ll never guess: yup, a blogpost about a 2005 visit to a Missionaries of Charity soup kitchen in Winnipeg, Canada. Not clear what connection, if any, it has to Mother Theresa’s own work during her lifetime, hence irrelevant to a debate about her personal beliefs and actions. [http://journals.worldnomads.com/rick...ost/27702.aspx](http://journals.worldnomads.com/rick...ost/27702.aspx) Blogpost about a 2008 visit to Mother Theresa’s missions in Calcutta, which, again, in no way contradicts the foregoing descriptions of the missions’ approach: > [@](#): > > Stretcher beds littered the hall at the house , a scene often depicted on TV of suffering people in camps. […] We were not orientated into what we should be doing so simply took it upon ourselves to get on and help wherever we could. We were told to wear aprons – they had the words “Jesus is our All in All” printed across them. From then on, our duties included handing out breakfasts, feeding patients who could not feed themselves, handing out medication, sitting with patients to comfort them (the human touch is so incredibly powerful - the poor, dying patients clutch the volunteers’ hands with all the strength that they have), handing out more bread and more chai to the outstretched hands and cries of “brother, brother”, collecting the plates after breakfast (which sets the wheels in motion for us to all do the washing up and drying), followed by nearly 2 hours of hand washing clothes, sheets, blankets, towels, aprons and cloth in massive concrete tubs. […] > > I arrived early at the house one morning and began handing out the breakfasts – I heard a man dying, surrounded by two sisters and two volunteers – his desperate last breaths were hard to bear: he was around my age. The nuns prayed to him and gave him his last rites, he died a few minutes later. ---
**Author:** ![Keweenaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Keweenaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keweenaw)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/91 "2010-02-25T02:01:19Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Why don’t you just tell us what your point is. I have no interest in reading a bunch of testimonials. Is there anything in them which refutes the relevant criticisms? My links are from people who have had direct contact with the order she founded or those that were inspired by her example. Mother Teresa life and legacy is one of caring and compassion especially for the most destitute and shunned of society. She continues to be an inspiration to millions even after her death. If you come from the mindset that her faith convections somehow taint her work with the poor then nothing I can say will change your view of her. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/92 "2010-02-25T02:14:27Z")
I don’t give a shit about her “faith convictions.” I’m of the mindset that people who force other people to suffer for their own gratification are not all that compassionate. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/93 "2010-02-25T02:47:28Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I’m of the mindset that people who force other people to suffer for their own gratification are not all that compassionate. To be fair, I think it can reasonably be claimed that all or almost all of the recipients of Mother Theresa’s ministry didn’t suffer any **more** under her organization’s care than they would have suffered without it, and probably most of them suffered at least somewhat less. Even a little food and water and shelter means a big improvement for many of these people. Still, I agree that it’s also fair to say that minimizing suffering in the most effective and comprehensive way, which we might assume is the primary goal in ministering to the sick and poor, was simply not Mother Theresa’s chief priority. The illustration that sticks in my mind the most is the repeated accounts from multiple sources of volunteers and nuns spending hours each day _washing patients’ bedding by hand_. In _Calcutta_. That just seems ridiculous. Every major Indian city has thousands of washermen and washerwomen who launder clothes and linens for very reasonable prices. Any Indian institution with any pretensions to being run efficiently (and even many that have abandoned all such pretensions) contracts out its laundry chores to the professionals who make their living at it. Sending out the linens to the _dhobi-walas_ or washerpeople would free up the time of nuns and volunteers to do more actual caring for sick people (as well as putting some much-needed income in the pockets of the _dhobi-walas_ so they’ll be less likely to become destitute themselves). And it probably wouldn’t cost in a year anything approaching the sums donated to Mother Theresa in a week. Insisting on performing **every** menial task in-house, even when it becomes such a big chore that it gets in the way of your core mission, isn’t being thrifty and practical. Rather, it’s making a fetish of self-sufficiency and humility, at the expense of the goal of helping others as effectively as possible. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/94 "2010-02-25T03:39:59Z")
Not all of Mother Theresa’s detractors are atheists. When I first heard some of these allegations, I was shocked. Surely MT was a shining example of human goodness. Then, people came up with cites and facts. She misused funds. As others have said, she ran dying houses rather than hospitals. The lack of medications meant they didn’t even qualify as proper hospices. Presented with proof she’d been given stolen money, she refused to give it back. This is not, IMO, the behavior of a proper saint. BTW You want a saint who gets respect among Dopers? Go with Jon Von Neumann. He had a very fine mind and was reportedly fun at parties too. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/95 "2010-02-25T03:56:06Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Those hospices and “centers for the poor” did not actually help anybody. That phrase is factually wrong. They have helpded thousands in Peru who would not have received any help at all. No, they didn’t bring MRI machines to the slums, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/96 "2010-02-25T03:59:12Z")
They helped in what way? ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/97 "2010-02-25T03:59:17Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I don’t give a shit about her “faith convictions.” I’m of the mindset that people who force other people to suffer for their own gratification are not all that compassionate. If you don’t like pizza, don’t go to “Tony’s Pizzeria”. If you’re starving, don’t complain and eat your pizza, if you don’t like it there are others willing to relieve you of it. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/98 "2010-02-25T03:59:31Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > That phrase is factually wrong. > They have helpded thousands in Peru who would not have received any help at all. No, they didn’t bring MRI machines to the slums, sorry. First, define exactly what help they received. Second, provide a cite for it. As it is, your post is just an unsupported assertion and carries as much weight as my claim to have had sex with Bjork. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/99 "2010-02-25T04:00:16Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#): > > If you don’t like pizza, don’t go to “Tony’s Pizzeria”. > If you’re starving, don’t complain and eat your pizza, if you don’t like it there are others willing to relieve you of it. That’s some pretty facile bullshit there. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2010, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194/100 "2010-02-25T11:59:45Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > First, define exactly what help they received. > Second, provide a cite for it. > > As it is, your post is just an unsupported assertion and carries as much weight as my claim to have had sex with Bjork. No, it doesn’t. While your claim of having sex with anyone may be suspect, the work of MT’s nuns is easily accesible through the internet. (In Spanish) [http://www.ua.es/personal/jms/album/misio/misio.htm](http://www.ua.es/personal/jms/album/misio/misio.htm) ( houses 100 old people and 40 abandonded children and provides food for poor. [http://www.larepublica.pe/node/91490](http://www.larepublica.pe/node/91490) (National and not-that-pro-church newspaper) [http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota\_id=940291](http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=940291) (Argentinian newspaper) [http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/1475/Misioneras-de-la-Caridad-abren-nuevo-albergue-para-mujeres-sin-hogar/](http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/1475/Misioneras-de-la-Caridad-abren-nuevo-albergue-para-mujeres-sin-hogar/) (Work in Denver) [http://www.colaboradores.org/comoayudar/MCHOUSES.htm](http://www.colaboradores.org/comoayudar/MCHOUSES.htm) (Full list of their houses; call them if you have any doubt) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-case-against-mother-theresa/530194.md?page=6)