Yeah, no kidding. Feeding and providing medical care for the Untouchables in India? She should have made an iPhone app to help find friends in restaurants nearby, that would have made he a real selfless altriust.
When asked "Do you teach the poor to endure their lot?" Mother Teresa replied "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."
She was, until the end of her life anyway, a very devout Christian but her order was a bit fringe. She didn't really provide medical care, she referred to her facilities as "houses of the dying" and their suffering was a good thing as it brought them closer to God so pain management was basically non existent. There are reams of statements from medical professionals, Indian and Western, that visited her facilities and the general consensus was that they were "horrifying" and lacked even the most basic attention to cleanliness.
She did feed a lot of people, but not many compared to other charities operating in the same places that had smaller budgets.
I also can't dismiss the fact that she used her reputation to support war criminals like the Duvalier family, although in other comments you do dismiss this so ... sure, I'll just concentrate on the rest.
If you do believe in the christian afterlife then perhaps she is a great person as she probably did convert a lot of sick people in India as they suffered and became more likely to accept Jesus as their saviour. If you don't then she let poor people die unnecessarily and intentionally heaped unnecessary suffering on the poor.
So like I said, definitely, unequivocally, based on her own statements alone, she is not a good canonical example of selfless altruism since a good canonical example would not be judged only by a fringe sect of Christianity that looks to enhance the suffering of the poor.
also, she and most othe rreligious still advocate over population and against several sane health treatments. not to mention education.
no little good religion does compensate for the long term damage.
But then, what do I know, I am sure that you must know vastly more than I do, seeing as to how as a Christian I must advocate against education now. I should write letters to all of the universities I have attended, asking them to please revoke my diplomas on the basis of my religious freedom.
What you talkin' 'bout Willis?
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/2013/04/mother-teresa...
What is the most telling is the response to Hitchens from the order she founded, on hearing about his death.
Despite Hitchens' vicious attacks on Mother Teresa over the years, the saint's order in India, Missionaries of Charity, said that it would offer prayers for the renowned atheist upon hearing of his passing late Thursday night at the age of 62, after a battle with cancer.
“We will pray for him and for his family,” spokeswoman for the order Sister Christie told Agence France-Presse.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/the-atheist-vs-the-saint-w...
On the matter of convincing the victims to forgive their aggressor, they confirm what he says.
As for the Albania issue, they cling to an incorrect but completely irrelevant historical fact he gets wrong, avoiding having to deal with the actual point, which is whether Mother Teresa actually supported it or not.
I don't know if Hitchens was right, but if the best her supporters can come up with is a reply filled with deceit and red herrings, I'm starting to think maybe he was on to something.
What is the most telling is the response to Hitchens from the order she founded, on hearing about his death.
That's the same reply any Catholic organization gives whenever someone dies, except maybe for cruel dictators. I'm not criticizing it, but it tells us absolutely nothing.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/uom-mta022813...
http://www.catholicleague.org/canadian-atheists-rip-mother-t...
It is also telling that Hitchens' book had no citations for any of his claims either.