Abel GM
Updated on September 4, 2023 · 4:46 p.m. · Reading:
Subscribe to National Geographic History this September for just €5/month + subscription GIFT Speak Up Digital for 1 year Limited offer!
Enjoy special editions of National Geographic History at a Exclusive price for being a subscriber.
On September 5, 1997, the missionary Teresa of Calcutta died in the city of the same name (shown in this photo as a young woman in typical Albanian clothing). Founder of the Missionaries of Charity In this city in India, he dedicated a large part of his life to caring for the marginalized in society: the poor, the sick, orphans…
Beatified and canonized after her deathSaint Teresa of Calcutta was a widely recognized and respected figure throughout the world beyond the church for her commitment to the most needy and disadvantaged. His work focused on helping others, often in extreme conditions of misery; people who are already terminally ill and provides them with palliative care.
Although Become a symbol of kindness and devotionHowever, this did not prevent his approach from being criticized. Lay people and members of the medical community expressed concerns about religious influence on the Missionaries of Charity’s medical care. Some patients and families may have felt uncomfortable with the religious focus in the medical environment, particularly in a country where Catholicism was viewed as a foreign influence.
Some critics argue that the sick and dying often did not receive adequate medical treatment Teresa of Calcutta believed in suffering as a way to grow closer to God. They also believed that their stance against the use of contraceptives and abortion ran counter to women’s rights and health and perpetuated the very problems they sought to alleviate.