Agnes Gonxha "Mother Teresa" to be a Saint

[Recusant]

It was pretty much inevitable, despite the revelations of the recent past. She wasn't the kind, generous person she's portrayed as, and the "miracles" associated with her are bogus, but the Catholic church knows that most people are still unaware of the dark side of the money-grubbing* lover of suffering.**

* Only a small percentage of the money she got actually went to helping the poor.

She raised almost $100 million before 1980. What happened is that around 5 to 7 per cent went to the charity for medicines, things like that. The other money went to build some houses for the missionaries. Just five per cent went to the cause.

[source]

** She purposely withheld pain medications from those in her "care" because suffering supposedly made them closer to Jesus.

At the time of her death, Mother Teresa had opened 517 missions welcoming the poor and sick in more than 100 countries. The missions have been described as "homes for the dying" by doctors visiting several of these establishments in Calcutta. Two-thirds of the people coming to these missions hoped to a find a doctor to treat them, while the other third lay dying without receiving appropriate care. The doctors observed a significant lack of hygiene, even unfit conditions, as well as a shortage of actual care, inadequate food, and no painkillers. The problem is not a lack of money—the Foundation created by Mother Teresa has raised hundreds of millions of dollars—but rather a particular conception of suffering and death: "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," was her reply to criticism, cites the journalist Christopher Hitchens. Nevertheless, when Mother Teresa required palliative care, she received it in a modern American hospital.

[source]

[Tank]

A sickening person glorified by a sickening institution. I'm surprised the Pope backed this given his attitude.

[xSilverPhinx]

A truly disgusting individual.

[Bluenose]

Pretty much demonstrates the contempt with which the roman catholic church holds for the truth. Of course the rc church is not alone in this, the same criticism can and should be made for all other denominations and religions. Truth is the one thing they don't want to discuss.

[Waski_the_Squirrel]

Even when I was a devout Christian, I was not Catholic. So, I had big trouble with the whole notion of a saint, especially since miracles are part of declaring a saint. Back then I believed in the whole "Original Sin" argument, so I didn't like seeing people declared saints.

I never liked the idea of asking a saint to intercede. Why not call up God directly by prayer?

But my biggest problem with sainthood was the miracles. I may have been Christian, but I was a scientific thinker. There was just no scientific way to prove a miracle. They're all anecdotal with no real evidence of supernatural cause. Now that I'm an atheist, I just have that much more trouble.

But, the other thing atheism has done for me is that I don't care as much. It's propaganda. I don't care anymore about asking a saint to intercede or the lack of evidence for miracles. But, whether I'm an atheist or a Christian, I still think the whole saint thing is silly.

[Icarus]

In the theocratic scheme of things, I doubt that it is permissible for a mortal to elevate another mortal to sainthood. 

[Recusant]

The date has been set. "Mother Teresa to Be Made a Saint on Sept. 4" | ABC

[Nam]

A sickening person glorified by a sickening institution. I'm surprised the Pope backed this given his attitude.

He's still a Christian. Christians are the most selfish people out there.

-Nam

[chimp3]

It is all propaganda. Trying to take the flocks minds off the sodomy of children.

[Sandra Craft]

I was very confused about the whole idea of miracles, so went looking for an explanation.  This article, How the Vatican identifies miracles, wasn't much help until I got to this bit at the end:

And as science has explained more and more over the years, many things that would have been considered miracles in the past are no longer seen that way, Bevans said. [Jesus vs. Scientists: Who's Better at Miracles?]

Although miracles are still technically required, "I think they've receded in importance" as criteria for sainthood, Bevans told LiveScience. "It's the holiness of the life of the person that counts."

This seems to me a concession that miracles are woo, but the idea of saints makes believers happy so just adjust the goalposts a little.

[Nam]

"Mother" Teresa didn't live a "holy" life unless "holy" now means: steal millions of dollars from people, and then make people suffer in agony for it.

-Nam

[Sandra Craft]

"Mother" Teresa didn't live a "holy" life unless "holy" now means: steal millions of dollars from people, and then make people suffer in agony for it.

-Nam

Holiness is a matter of interpretation.  I get the feeling some people think the mere fact that she went to India as a nun qualifies her for sainthood.

[Nam]

I can't believe a person like her got the Nobel Peace Prize. In her speech she cited hatred as one of the foundations of her "good work". (Aids as a good thing toward sexual deviances aka homosexuals)

-Nam

[Sandra Craft]

I can't believe a person like her got the Nobel Peace Prize. In her speech she cited hatred as one of the foundations of her "good work". (Aids as a good thing toward sexual deviances aka homosexuals)

-Nam

Yasser Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize too.  Watcha gonna do?

[Firebird]

I can't believe a person like her got the Nobel Peace Prize. In her speech she cited hatred as one of the foundations of her "good work". (Aids as a good thing toward sexual deviances aka homosexuals)

-Nam

Yasser Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize too.  Watcha gonna do?

Hell, Obama won the award for simply not being Bush. Even he seemed pretty embarrassed by it.