by Matt Kennedy
As of Sept. 4, 2016 Mother Teresa is now known as St. Teresa. She was beatified back in 2003 because of her deeds throughout her life such as completing over 500 missions in about 100 different countries. The matter of the fact is, she does not deserve the title, “saint.”
I am not saying St. Teresa was the exact opposite of a saint; she has done many great things for the Catholic Church and has become an inspiration for the present and future generations because of her actions. Her faith was strong and her generosity was unheard of, but the matter of the fact is, there are some things which cannot be considered ‘saint-like.’
One of the main issues St. Teresa has had to deal with throughout her service period consists of criticism towards her motives and actions revolving the sick and dying. She consistently has had people come to her for many years seeking medical attention, however, very little or almost none of those patrons ever received the care they need.
Instead of medical care, the sick and dying citizens only received unwanted baptisms and good wishes. The servants or fellow sisters of St. Teresa were ordered to almost “sneak” baptisms upon the sick while they were washed. This concept takes away the freedom of choice for these people because they come seeking help and instead get an unwanted prayer with a bath. The Catholic Church is very proud of St. Teresa and they highlight all of her work over the years because to them, she is a woman who has done great work and deserves the title of a “saint.”
The Huffington Post wrote an article providing info on her lack of care to the sick. The article quotes her saying, “There is something beautiful in seeing the poor accept their lot, to suffer it like Christ’s Passion. The world gains much from their suffering.” Where is the hope in something like this?
Christianity preaches healing and forgiveness through Christ Jesus, but stating the world is becoming a better place through suffering is out of context. The sick should be able to come looking for healing both physical and spiritual; when they come and do not receive any help from actual doctors, where is the good in that?
St. Teresa supposedly supported many charities which helped the sick and provided funding for doctors and medicine to reach those in need. However, sources from the suffering areas stated only a few, close to none, actually received any care at all. Results like this really make one question if St. Teresa is deserving of canonization.
Yes, St. Teresa has done amazing things in her lifetime which do deserve praise because she has reached millions of people worldwide delivering messages of hope and love. Although, the matter of the fact is that the pieces of the puzzle do not always fit and it is obvious her actions sometimes did not come with the best intentions.
From not properly caring for the sick and a lack of support for local charities, which need the money to help those in need, these accusations should have been enough to show she is indeed not a saint.
by Caleb Quimby
St. Teresa by blood was Albanian, Indian by law, but Catholic by religion. She had accomplished so much in her lifetime to be given sainthood. For everyone that does not know what a saint is, it is someone that the Catholic church believes can see and talk to God. That means that people can pray to her and she will inturn relay that word to God.
For example, a man developed a virial brain disease which put him in a coma. Many of his friends and family came and prayed to St. Teresa to save him. When the doctor was about to operate on the man he woke up with no explanation.
Most of the time it takes centuries or decades to become a saint. However, that was not the case for St. Teresa. She died in1997attheageof87andnot even 20 years later she became a saint on Sept. 4, 2016.
I think the reason behind her becoming a saint so quickly was due to the fact that she was so involved in the church and everything the church had to offer. St. Teresa would go to
places that not even doctors would go. She would hand out medicine to the sick. She even employed people with leprosy to help supply saris to her missionaries in over 133 countries. She belonged entirely to Jesus, along with being a figure to millions, so she does deserve to be a saint more than anyone else.
She has done so many incredible things, feeling the love for the least and the lost, even serving God for 70 years. She sought the face of the poor, not for comfort or success but for poverty and the needy eyes of orphans. She labored and loved more than any other person, even for strangers. What kind of person can do that other than a saint of God.
Do I think that St. Teresa deserves to be a saint? Yes I do, and that is coming from someone that is agnostic. She did so much in her life for other people, never for herself; she wanted to help people. This will be the best thing that has happened to the Catholic population since the new pope was announced in 2013.
