Criticism of Mother Teresa - Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens published The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice, a pamphlet which repeated many of the accusations in the documentary. In articles with Free Inquiry and Slate magazines Hitchens said Mother Teresa is widely and falsely seen as selflessly devoted to serving mankind. People who would normally think rationally fail to examine claims about Mother Teresa because she is considered holy. The pope (Pope John Paul II) abolished the traditional wait of five years after a person’s death before starting the procedure for canonisation and also the "devil's advocate", both safeguards against unsuitable people being declared saints and against irrational thinking. Further the pope nominated Mother Teresa a year after her death. There was in Hitchens’ opinion no reason to pay so much attention to Mother Teresa rather than to very many other people working to relieve Third World misery..

Further Hitchens claimed Mother Teresa promoted an extreme fundamentalist view of Roman Catholicism and that was never investigated. Under Pope John XXIII Mother Teresa spoke against doctrinal reform.

Hitchens also claims that Mother Teresa accepted money from Charles Keating despite knowing it was obtained illegally.