I kept looking for the happy ending, but like oh so many other instances in life- there was none, other than the realization that sometimes (and those times are indeed rare and far in between)- there are real saints in this world.
Unlike media hypes like Mother Theresa; often they work in relative anonymity, known only in their local circles. But their work does have consequence, and their lives, and those they serve, do have meaning...
I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot, to share it with the passion of Christ. I think the world is being much helped by the suffering of the poor people. -Mother Theresa
I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot, to share it with the passion of Christ. I think the world is being much helped by the suffering of the poor people. -Mother Theresa
That quote by Mother Teresa is some of the most misguided, delusional bullshit I've ever heard, and these days we hear a lot of it. Mother Teresa would have done the world a great service if she had handed out condoms, rather than useless platitudes.
ReplyDeleteI can feel my blood pressure rising, Stan...
Hey, somebody had to suffer for the good of the world as she flew 1st class!
ReplyDeleteActually, that's the been the official line of Catholic hierarchy for quite some time, why they and authoritarian regimes world over have been such close knit friends throughout history...
I hate to say it but Mudshouse's comment is some of the most misguided, delusional bullshit I've heard in a long time. Until you have worked with social issues in third world countries yourself I suggest you keep your armchair quarterbacking in check. I am not defending the RC church as I have found in many situations they are complicit in governmental corruption in the countries I have worked in. The orphanage was an important thing and I am sure there was another NGO handing out condoms. It is much more complicated than you may understand.
ReplyDeleteAs you say, things are usually, if not always more complicated on the ground (usually to the benefit of the status quo). I've had 12 years of Catholic schooling, and am at least somewhat familiar with the type of poverty that has people living in tin shacks. There are some radical and very progressive factions of the Catholic Church, unfortunately, they are extremely marginal in number.
ReplyDeleteMother Teresa addressed the symptoms of poverty- to what effect is very debatable. And she never dared ask as to its causes- that quote should chill anyone to the core... she literally reveled in the continued suffering of these people!
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/mother-teresa-orphanages-in-india-stop-adoptions-after-liberal-reforms-a6690021.html
So, Eric, you think that it's a beautiful thing for the poor to accept their lot? Why, and to what end? To remain in poverty? To live lives that are largely controlled and manipulated by those that have more? To keep the peace?
ReplyDeleteAs Stan said, Mother Teresa never addressed the causes of poverty, at least not publicly. At the same time she tacitly encouraged overpopulation by adhering to a strict interpretation of Catholic doctrine. She could have done so much more; not by working harder, but by acknowledging and bringing to the world's and the church's attention, some of the causes of the abject poverty and suffering of the people she worked with.
I can't understand how someone who did so much good for so many people could be unaware of the effect that a quote like that can have to discourage change and hope for many of those same people.