Never forget

[Starlight]

She spent her life comforting the dying. Is that, or is that not, a worthwhile project?

I guess it depends what the word "comforting" means. Various people have alleged it didn't mean providing any kind of medical treatment, and it didn't mean providing them a nice place in which to die. It's not totally clear to me what meaningful value "comforting" has at that point.

[EvoUK]

I may be wrong in this- I'll google it properly when I can- but didn't she die after receiving medical treatment she didn't give/allow those she cared for? I've heard the accusation levelled at her, but haven't had a chance to substantiate it.

[Cow Poke]

I may be wrong in this- I'll google it properly when I can- but didn't she die after receiving medical treatment she didn't give/allow those she cared for? I've heard the accusation levelled at her, but haven't had a chance to substantiate it.

In cases like this, I think it's best to Google it first, then propose the accusation.

[Cow Poke]

FWIW...

22 Years Ago, The Clintons Pulled A Colin Kaepernick On Mother Teresa

Source: TheFederalist

It’s hard to overstate the symbolic power of sitting down. Today, a football player’s refusal to stand for the National Anthem has garnered headline upon headline. Twenty-two years ago, a seated couple protested one of the world’s most beloved figures.

In a truly iconic American scene that still captures the attention—and confusion—of the Washington elite, then-President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, sat in stunned silence amid a standing ovation that followed Mother Teresa’s address at the National Prayer Breakfast.

The applause lasted a solid five minutes after Mother Teresa’s address. Long before the days of “virtue-signaling,” however, the Clintons were sending a message of dissent loud and clear to the woman now officially canonized a saint in the Catholic Church for her “heroic virtue.”

© Copyright Original Source

[rogue06]

I guess it depends what the word "comforting" means. Various people have alleged it didn't mean providing any kind of medical treatment, and it didn't mean providing them a nice place in which to die. It's not totally clear to me what meaningful value "comforting" has at that point.

Do you know what the purpose of a hospice is? They aren't supposed to provide medical treatment but make their last days as comfortable as they can. In the slums of one of the poorest places in the world that is going to be limited.

[rogue06]

I may be wrong in this- I'll google it properly when I can- but didn't she die after receiving medical treatment she didn't give/allow those she cared for? I've heard the accusation levelled at her, but haven't had a chance to substantiate it.

You might need to Google hospice to see what they're supposed to do. If you're still seeking medical treatment then you don't belong in a hospice. It has nothing to do with "allowing" medical treatment.

[Sparko]

Not to mention she wasn't a doctor or a nurse

She was a nun

[Cow Poke]

Do you know what the purpose of a hospice is? They aren't supposed to provide medical treatment but make their last days as comfortable as they can. In the slums of one of the poorest places in the world that is going to be limited.

My daughter, the Hospice Nurse, says sometimes her patients - particularly the Christian ones - are sometimes quite impatient with her... "How come I'm not dead, yet? I'm ready to die - why am I still here?"

And, on a sad note, since she in the process of changing jobs (she'll be a labor/delivery nurse) she's having a really hard time saying goodbye to some of her patients who are truly near end of life, but are still "here".

[Teallaura]

I'll throw 3 links at y'all and then some of my own comments.

The first isn't actually about Mother Teresa-- it's about Damien of Molokai, a Catholic priest who served at a leper colony in Hawaii. After his death, a Protestant minister in Hawaii wrote a letter critical of Fr. Damien to a colleague, and the letter was subsequently published. Robert Louis Stevenson noticed the letter, and wrote this in response: (it's a bit longer than your average modern blog post, but also rather more edifying-- and entertaining)
http://www.fullbooks.com/Father-Damien.html

And two articles from the last few years defending Mother Teresa.
http://aleteia.org/2016/04/05/5-resp...mother-teresa/
This is probably the most direct and succinct response. If you have time for nothing else, read it.

https://www.firstthings.com/web-excl...nd-her-critics
This one goes into a bit more depth and detail, engages more with sources and the like.

Mother Teresa was neither a doctor nor a social worker nor an economist, nor did she ever claim to be: those are the wrong standards by which to judge her. We can argue that we could be more effective at remedying poverty than Mother Teresa was, but even that is missing the point, since that wasn't really her goal. She never pretended to be trying to solve the socioeconomic conditions of poverty. She was a nun who spent most of her life living among the poorest of the poor and comforting the dying.

A lit review?