Mother Teresa Wasn't A Saintly Person - She Was A Shrewd Operator With Unpalatable Views Who Knew How To Build Up A Brand - The Independent

4/9/2016
MotherTeresawasn'tasaintlypersonshewasashrewdoperatorwithunpalatableviewswhoknewhowtobuildupabrand|TheIndependent
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Mother Teresa wasn't a saintly person she

was a shrewd operator with unpalatable
views who knew how to build up a brand
Im not going to go down the well-trodden route of criticising a person
that Christopher Hitchensonce famously dubbed 'a lying, thieving
Albanian dwarf' but I do intend to let you know about the truth
surrounding this mysterious saint (and it's not all peace and love)
Douglas Robertson | 9 hours ago | 240 comments
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http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/motherteresawasntasaintlypersonshewasashrewdoperatorwithunpalatableviewswhoknewhowa72248
1/17
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Mother Teresa accompanied by children at her mission in Calcutta, India 05/12/1980 Getty
The news has hit the headlines of pretty much every British
newspaper this morning: Mother Teresa has ocially been made
a saint. Following two successive conrmed miracles (dont get
me started), she is today being ocially recognised.
With everything thats happening in the world, why is this
particular person getting so much posthumous airtime? The
Catholic Church, after all, doesnt enjoy the same access to our
political system as the Church of England, so whats the
relevance here? Well, its quite simple really Mother Teresa was
a celebrity, with a very well-managed brand.
2/17
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READ MORE
Mother Teresa orphanages in India stop adoptions after

liberal reforms
Ask most people what they think about Mother Teresa and theyll
say something vague about what a good person she was, how
benevolent, self-sacricing and generally lovely. I have absolute
sympathy with this stance; thats been the pretty consistent
thread throughout the news coverage of her, both in life and after
death.
Im not going to go down the well-trodden route of criticising a
person that Christopher Hitchens (who played the role of devils
advocate in the discussions surrounding her canonisation) once
famously dubbed a lying, thieving Albanian dwarf thats been
done before, and by people with gifts of expression far superior
to my own.
Much of the criticism levelled at Mother Teresa centres around
the way she promoted views of the Catholic Church that many
would see as dogmatic. Take her stance on contraception: In
destroying the power of giving life, through contraception, a
husband or wife is doing something to self. This turns the
attention to self and so destroys the gift of love in him or her.
3/17
4/9/2016
Abortion? She didnt hold back with that either: I always say one
thing: If a mother can kill her own child, then what is left of the
West to be destroyed? It is dicult to explain, but it is just that.
Pope Francis gives life advice: in pictures
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Perhaps not the most enlightened of views, to put it lightly (and

somewhat ironically). The Roman Catholic Church, however,
famously has no qualms with either of them, so its not surprising
that they work in her favour. She wasnt perhaps quite as vitriolic
in her criticism of gay people as they might have liked, but I
suppose nobodys perfect. She in fact famously once stopped an
interview when the interviewer used the word homosexuals,
saying that they should be referred to as friends of Jesus. Cute.
I submit however that the reason she is being acknowledged by
the Vatican in this ostentatious and rather costly fashion is much
more to do with the fact that she represents the greatest PR
4/17
4/9/2016
victory of the Church in the past hundred years. A suitably

charismatic appearance, a penchant for photo opportunities with
Princess Diana (an incredibly successful and symbiotic brand
collaboration if ever there was one), and a global fundraising
brand (Mother Teresas Missionaries of Charity has raised and
deployed billions of dollars across the world) this, all this
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combined
with
theto publics
belief that Mother, or Saint, Teresa
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preached a deliciously palatable message of peace and love which
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bordered on the hippie.

shares Im not sure when the Roman Catholic
Church last had an advocate who enjoyed her level of prole, at
least not in a positive sense. Im fairly sure that most members of
the public would much more readily recognise an image of her
than any of the last few Popes.
Perhaps even devout secularists such as I shouldnt be too

surprised that Mother Teresa is now being made a saint the
Church, in honouring her in this way, is ensuring the longevity
of a brand that continues not only to raise the prole of their
mission and messages, but surely raises considerable capital into
the bargain. The question is: was a woman who preached virtue
in suering rather than trying to alleviate it and took money from
dictators really that saintly at all?
More about: | Mother Teresa | Pope Francis | Catholic Church
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COMMENTS
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COMMENTS
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240 Comments
WalterTull
Subscribe RSS
11 minutes ago
Douglas unless you have done something for india's poor you
are nothing and so have nothing to say.
So keep quiet
Reply Share
european
-1 likes
18 minutes ago
Not surprisingly, the decline of ISIS coincides with the

sainthood of Mother Theresa. Just think of the horror of
claiming your 70 virgins and discovering that Mother Theresa
is one of them.
Reply Share
european
+4 likes
20 minutes ago
I see Hitchens is still able to enrage from posterity those who

cannot wait for the Day of Judgment, those looking up in awe
to Mother Theresa just because she succeeded in jumping the
queue.
Reply Share
european
+1 likes
38 minutes ago
It is a mystery, no, a miracle that the Vatican detects a PR

victory in the popularity of a person that denied essential
treatment to those left in her care, the dying and the merely ill
who could have been saved by spending a tiny fraction of the
donations she accepted in their name.
Reply Share
Uzernayme
+5 likes
45 minutes ago
My favourite saint was always Saint N Greavsie

Reply Share
Volsted Gridban
+1 likes
47 minutes ago
How much Catholic tat has been sold since this

announcement? The Saint Teresa tea towels must be ying o
the shelves. You are such fools to believe in this hokum.
7/17
4/9/2016
Saints are a sop to the people after monotheism came about.

Can't worship multiple gods anymore? No problem. Simply
call them saints,give them all something they are protectors of
{same as pagan gods} ...and away you go.
Reply Share
youcrackmeup
+2 likes
47 minutes ago
I see anti-catholic bigotry, the last acceptable prejudice alive

and well down here in the comments
Reply Share
83% of my predictions are quite close
-3 likes
1 hour ago
Pathetic.
A married couple should not need contraception because they
should receive children as gifts of God. I wonder what the
AIDS and sexually transmitted disease rates are between a
monogamous couple? Very low.
Abortion. 98% of the 200,000 unborn babies aborted in the
UK each year are completely healthy and 81% of the women
are single according to the Department of Health. In the US,
the Guttmacher Institute found that 1% of abortions were due
to rape and less than 0.5% due to incest.
Therefore, the vast majority of abortions are the killing of
healthy unborn children conceived with consent to single
women. Not a good picture especially given the mental
distress women feel after abortion and putting themselves at
risk in transient relationships. Wake up to the facts. The
Catholic church supports the family and human life in a
brilliant and sensible way.
Reply Share
Athanasius
-3 likes
1 hour ago
The author declares an aversion the Christopher Hitchens

before quoting him. Cosmic. The high point of this article is a
quote from an intellectual prostitute whose commentaries
were click bait and who had all the sincerity of Christmas in
Las Vegas.
Reply Share
OdysseusReturns
-4 likes
1 hour ago
8/17
4/9/2016
"Im not going to go down the well-trodden route of criticising

a person that Christopher Hitchens once famously dubbed 'a
lying, thieving Albanian dwarf' "
However that's exactly what this dwarf journalist then
proceeds to do, so he clearly has all the self-awareness of a ea.
I am not Catholic or religious in any sense but the sheer
desperation of the existentially confused to make a hero
(secular saint?) of the congenitally nasty dipsomaniac
Christopher Hitchens (not remarkably endowed himself in the
height department) is mind-boggling.
Reply Share 3 replies
De Vise
-2 likes
1 hour ago
Excellent post! Although it's unlikely to be appreciated

by the angry "existentially confused" individuals here.
Reply Share 2 replies
Volsted Gridban
+1 likes
13 minutes ago
We are not 'existentially confused'. I take it by that

you mean we atheists don't believe in god,but you
do. Are you selective in your god worship? What's
your stance on Odin,Zeus,Ra,Helios,Enki,Tengri
and thousands of others? Then we'll start on the
Goddesses.
Reply Share 1 reply
De Vise
+2 likes
3 minutes ago
I am not sure why you feel entitled to claim

that others are not "existentially confused".
How do you know that? I have said nothing
about what I may or may not believe.
However, why don't you outline your
argument about dierent gods and
goddesses which you allude to above? Then
we can see if it will hold water.
Reply Share
0 likes
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Mother Teresa Wasn't A Saintly Person - She Was A Shrewd Operator With Unpalatable Views Who Knew How To Build Up A Brand - The Independent

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4/9/2016

Hosting Trco ilimitado

Mother Teresa wasn't a saintly person she

Mother Teresa orphanages in India stop adoptions after

Perhaps not the most enlightened of views, to put it lightly (and

victory of the Church in the past hundred years. A suitably

bordered on the hippie.

Perhaps even devout secularists such as I shouldnt be too

Aged 35 he speaks 11 languages - his 11 tricks to learn any language

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Las tres ancdotas de lotera ms increbles de todos los tiempos

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5 Star Luxury Hotels For Under 99

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Suffering From Acid Reux? There Is A Natural Remedy...

Not surprisingly, the decline of ISIS coincides with the

I see Hitchens is still able to enrage from posterity those who

It is a mystery, no, a miracle that the Vatican detects a PR

My favourite saint was always Saint N Greavsie

How much Catholic tat has been sold since this

Saints are a sop to the people after monotheism came about.

I see anti-catholic bigotry, the last acceptable prejudice alive

83% of my predictions are quite close

The author declares an aversion the Christopher Hitchens

"Im not going to go down the well-trodden route of criticising

Excellent post! Although it's unlikely to be appreciated

We are not 'existentially confused'. I take it by that

I am not sure why you feel entitled to claim

Show more comments

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Could you be a better

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