The Missionaries of Charity
I worked as a volunteer in one of Mother Teresa’s homes in Calcutta, India for a period of two months at the end of 2008. It was during this time that I was shocked to discover the horrific and negligent manner in which this charity operates and the direct contradiction of the public’s general understanding of their work.
After further investigation and research, I realized that all of the events I had witnessed amounted to nothing more than a systematic human rights violation and a financial scam of monumental and criminal proportions.
Workers washing needles under tap water only to be reused again. Medicine and other vital items being store for months on end, expiring and eventually still applied sporadically to patients. Volunteers with little or no training carrying out dangerous work on patients with highly contagious cases of Tuberculosis, leprosy and other life threatening illnesses, while the workers of the charity patently refuse to accept and implement machinery and equipment that would safely automate processes and save lives.
It was Mother Teresa’s own admission during an interview that more than 23,000 people had died in the halls of one of the missions home; boasting at the number if you will and missing entirely the point of the enormous compilation of unnecessary deaths.
Not once in its sixty year history, have the Missionaries of Charity reported the money they’ve taken in donations, what percentage they use for administration and where the rest has been applied and how. Since its inception, defectors of the organization and other journalists have placed the figure upwards of one billion dollars and counting. The mission currently operates 450 plus homes and maintains an average of 4,000 workers.
If any other organization did this systematically for six decades, there would be arrests and criminal charges; so why the exception here?
Many followers of Mother Teresa and her charity have irrationally argued in her defense while completely ignoring the actual deaths caused by the organization which in it of itself is quite troubling. While I agree that poverty is ugly, grueling and heartbreaking and it won’t go away in two months or a year I have also seen how easy it is for many to swipe a credit card or send a check and in return spend hours claiming the good that’s done with it but in this case, it couldn’t be more inaccurate.
Mother Teresa herself had also repeatedly admitted that she was not a social worker, and her followers continue to assert the same. So under what motives do they tend to the poor you may ask? The mantra of the operation rests solely on the belief that suffering and poverty are ways of loving god, something that when explained to even people of faith makes no sense at all! In short, they are there to move people to their deaths rather than actually looking for ways to fix the problem that is poverty.
I have started this group and other projects to denounce the Missionaries of Charity and their work and bring worldwide attention to the acts committed by them on daily basis. I strongly believe that as humans we most help our fellow humans in need with 100% transparency and not in return of those we help having to agree with whatever spiritual path we may choose.
Continuing to air these facts about Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity and organizations like hers bring attention to the fraud and manipulation that exists and helps point good people everywhere to other charities that work to empower men, women and children in need the world over.
About the Author
Hemley Gonzalez is the creator of the Facebook group STOP the Missionaries of Charity, whose goal is to hold the Missionaries of Charity accountable for their negligence and misuse of donations.
Thank you for your support.
Hemley Gonzalezhttp://www.stopthemissionariesofcharity.com
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I have worked with the Missinaries of Charity for over 2o years, and have witnessed first hand the love and holiness that the sisters radiate in serving the poorest of the poor. They do not accept any church or government grants and solely rely on the providence of God. Thank God for inspiring Mother Teresa to establish this order. Come and volunteer and you will find Jesus in the distressing disguise of the poor. The society of the Missionaries of Charity emanated form the wounded heart of Jesus, his cry “I Thirst” for love of souls on Mt. Calvary. May God have mercy on all of us who have put blinders in our eyes and politicize actions that originate from the heart of God. Thank you Lord for the MISSIONARIES OF CHARITY. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us. Immaculate Heart of Mary, Cause of Our Joy, pray for us.
Percy, what about the article did you not get? You are MURDERING people. Yeah, sure, you have all the … best … intentions, which just fits the old saying that all the worst things are done with the best intentions.
You and your group obviously don’t “love” them enough to actually care about their physical life… for the reality is you don’t care about their life here but their soul irregardless if it actually exists. You’re too busy “saving” people to actually save them. Sad, and it needs to stop.
Let’s not even go into all the money laundering religious charities do. Its absolutely ridiculous, how much money you steal that you won’t even assure the most basic necessities for real care.
[deleted – ed.]
That’s a very ugly comment, with some wild accusations with zero documentation. I will probably delete it.
Perhaps it’s better to use wild accusations and ugly comments as a basis for further justification of the cause. Deleting detractors’ comments just makes it seem like you’re unprepared for criticism.
Possibly, but there are a lot of substantive accusations there, with zero support. The comment verges on libel.
I might edit it instead of removing it.
My comment is based upon examining the images and reading through the captions in his Stop the Missionaries of Charity facebook group.
I will say that I agree completely with what he wrote above, “I strongly believe that as humans we most help our fellow humans in need with 100% transparency and not in return of those we help having to agree with whatever spiritual path we may choose.”
But, I also will reassert that although it all sounds lovely I do not trust his motivation. It seems that he is out to attack a specific group more than anything else. He talks of “Medicine and other vital items being store for months on end…” when by his own admission he was at the mission barely two months. I personally have met volunteers from the same exact institution that were there much longer–so the short time period hardly amounts to anything.
Yet, in such a short time period he managed to acquire copious photographs depicting his “work” with patients and practicing “therapy” which I guess he learned all about as a real estate broker?
If you closely examine his words, they are misleading. Why would a volunteer need to be examining medical records and death certificates? He also attacks individual workers at the home which I feel is an unethical thing to do. For such a short period of time, it seems apparent that he intended to attack the group and again I would like to point out that he is obviously a rather fanatical atheist so it makes little sense that he would choose a religious organization to serve.
The whole Mother Theresa scam has been extensively documented and written about by people like Christopher Hitchens, Colette Livermore, Aroup Chatterjee, and many others. Again, if you simply do a Google search on the mission you will find out virtually everything that Hemley Gonzalez claims to have “discovered.”
He has done some good perhaps in bringing more attention to these matters, but credit should be given to the people that inspired his “mission.” Because he has neglected to do this, has an obvious personal agenda, and uses deceptive wording in his writings I feel that his motives are not at all pure and he shouldn’t be trusted. I would rather donate money to an established secular organization than someone that seems to revel in attention.
That’s a more careful comment (which is not to say that I agree with it!), so I’ll just delete the first one.
I don’t see what you’re so indignant about, Arjun. You’re suspicious of Hemley’s motives – based on nothing in particular. Other people have documented the horrors of M. Teresa’s work – and Hemley has done so too, and is informing more people about it. It’s not in the least obvious that he’s a “fanatical atheist.” It all looks like a big temper tantrum about nothing. You’re suspicious of Hemley’s motives, you say; well allow me to be suspicious of yours.
Actually, the style of documentation used by both Hemley and Arjun are relatively similar.
Neither provide citation, and instead rely on speculation and loose references to back up their claims. In fact, I would say that at least Arjun does not rely entirely on unverifiable personal data, having mentioned previous publications, including Hemley’s own work.
In fact, Arjun does not seem to provide much information about him/herself whatsoever. For some reason this brings to mind the phrase “all publicity is good publicity,” and makes me think that somebody with a vested interest in creating a stir is, in fact, succeeding.
“You’re suspicious of Hemley’s motives – based on nothing in particular.”
I stated a few reasons, some of which were deleted. His choice of words is intentionally misleading and he doesn’t cite people that have already been exposing the same horrible truths that he was shocked to “discover” for many years now. Things like that lead me to not trust his motivations.
“Other people have documented the horrors of M. Teresa’s work – and Hemley has done so too, and is informing more people about it.”
That’s fine, but he is rehashing information that has already been covered and taking all the credit for himself. So far what has he really done that has benefited anyone except himself? He worked for an evil organization for two months and is now complaining about it as much as possible. Where is the good in that?
“It’s not in the least obvious that he’s a “fanatical atheist.” It all looks like a big temper tantrum about nothing.”
He links to his page using the address noreligions.org and bashes religious beliefs regularly in his posts. He has picture albums dedicated to insulting different religious groups. He is a self-styled “humanitarian” and “philanthropist” that has no problem with insulting large groups of humanity.
Many of his photographs were taken in various cities across the Indian subcontinent as well as Nepal giving the impression of a young man on Holiday who found a convenient way to fund further traveling adventures while ostensibly serving humanity.
There is no “temper tantrum” involved, I looked through his sites and am commenting on what I see.
“You’re suspicious of Hemley’s motives, you say; well allow me to be suspicious of yours.”
Feel free to do that. I am usually suspicious of people that claim altruism while seeking attention for themselves which from the amount of photographs Hemley Gonzalez posts of himself appears to be the case.
Arjun, you can’t possibly know that his choice of words is intentionally misleading, and that claim is libelous. I deleted your previous words because some of them were libelous, and most of the rest of them were speculative and dogmatic at the same time, as well as rude and hostile.
It’s a Facebook page. Why is it such a huge deal if he doesn’t cite other people who have found similar things? (And I’m not sure he doesn’t, in any case.)
You’re not just commenting, you’re making strong accusations with no evidence. You can’t do that here. Comment on the Facebook page if you want to comment, or comment here but without being libelous and without claiming to know what’s in Hemley’s mind.
While Arjun’s posts are harsh and speculative, perhaps even rude and hostile, there is nothing illegal about anything he’s stated. Deconstructing and criticizing someone’s words is not libel; in some contexts it can be flaming or trolling, but it doesn’t count as libel unless it can be quantifiably proven to be untrue and to effectively lower someone’s public image.
His claims so far are as follows:
A. It is suspicious that the Original Poster (OP) volunteered for the Missionaries of Charity in the first place:
1. OP is publicized as being a secular humanist.
2. The program that OP volunteered for was religious.
3. The program that OP volunteered for was already under scrutiny.
4. The scrutiny was publicized and available when OP volunteered.
B. The question is raised as to how OP gained any of the justifying evidence to his attacks of the charity:
1. OP volunteered for two months.
2. OP entered his volunteer position from a real estate background.
3. These do not usually qualify someone to gain high infrastructural or administrative access or knowledge.
C. The above raise the question as to why the OP did decide to volunteer for MoC:
1. OP documented many photographs with patients.
2. OP left, and two years later, is publicizing very similar documentation against the charity to information already publicized before his volunteer position took place.
3. OP created his own charity rather than joining the previously established and equivalent ones.
4. OP presents himself as “… Hemley Gonzalez; … a man of the world and an instrument of change.”
D. Overall, the above data extrapolated from full context looks like a glory-hounding activity with a bent against a vilified organization rather than a sincere and compassionate cause.
Defamation would be if someone was claiming that Gonzales is “murdering people … with the best intentions,” or perhaps taking pictures with them still wearing their urine-soaked garments rather than changing them first. Throwing his claims into question is a perfectly reasonable act of free speech — which admittedly does not apply to others’ privately owned websites — though there are in fact laws against things like plagiarism, which I am also sure that Arjun is not doing.
Former member of the missionaries of charity Thanks for telling the truth about Mother Teresa I hope people will find the truth and try to stop it. I will do anything to help. Mari
My first question is where do you get your “facts,” especially regarding the amount of money donated and how it is administered? From all I have read and seen (as a volunteer) these ladies provide a much needed service working with the “poorest of the poor. ” No, the conditions of those they care for may still be sub par, especially compared to the average in the United States, but these women, following the words of Christ, provide food, clothing and shelter to those who would otherwise do without. Can there be improvements? Of course. But to dismiss the whole program would a tragedy. What would happen to those currently being cared for? And finally, as to your comment about Mother Teresa and social work, the comment (not taken out of context was:”If we provide services we do social work. If we provide services with love we do God’s work.'”
One other thought. You stated that 23,000 pts had died. Over 60 years that Is an average of not quite 384 pts a year. If you consider that the Missionaries of Charity run over 160 homes, most of which provide hospice care to terminally ill patients the figure is certainly not higher than any other hospice facility.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for rightlousness sake, for their’s is the kingdom of heaven. “. Matthew 5:10
I was just taken off of a website that demonized Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of charity.
I am heart broken the tway they are tearing Mother Teresa apart for simply being a messenger of God’s love.
They she said did not stop poverty, however, Mother Teresa did infact tell us how to cut poverty in half. She said if each individual person would just take a look into their own families, those who are unwanted, those or forgotten, this is the correct way to fight poverty. She also said that God did not create poverty, we did because we don’t know how to share. She saw Christ in every human being. She also went into a war torn Lebanon To save little Children who were spastic & were also Muslim,. She risked her own life .I have visited her Missionaries of Charity in the Bronx,I saw nothing but beautiful Monastics, who emulate the love of God to every individual they come into contact with. Mother Teresa Has earned her crown in heaven. And I hope, she can be a beautiful example for all of us. I am not Catholic, I am a Greek Orthodox Christian, and I do believe her to be a
saint.
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