The Missionary Position
| The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Author(s) | Christopher Hitchens |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Subject(s) | Mother Teresa |
| Publisher | Verso |
| Publication date | 1995 |
| ISBN | 1-85984-054-X |
| OCLC Number | 33358318 |
| Dewey Decimal | 271/.97 B 20 |
| LC Classification | BX4406.5.Z8 H55 1995 |
The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice is a book by Christopher Hitchens addressing Mother Teresa's life and work. The book presents broad criticism of Mother Teresa and her missionary activity, particularly that she acted as a political opportunist and dogmatist to the detriment of those served by her charities. The book unfolds as an argument that Mother Teresa (born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu) does not deserve beatification and elevation to sainthood. Regarding the title's double entendre, Hitchens remarked, "it was either that or Sacred Cow, and I thought Sacred Cow would be in bad taste."[1]
Contents |
Summary[edit]
Hitchens primarily condemns Mother Teresa for redirecting contributions to open a global network of convents in place of building the teaching hospital she promised donors. He also makes direct claims that Mother Teresa was no "friend to the poor," and that she opposed structural measures to end poverty, particularly those that would raise the status of women. He argues she was a tool by which the Catholic Church furthered its political and theological aims, and the cult of personality that she developed was used by politicians, dictators and bankers to gain credibility and assuage guilt, citing Hillary Rodham Clinton, Charles Keating and Michèle Bennett as examples.
Missionaries of Charity[edit]
Hitchens portrays Mother Teresa's organization, the Missionaries of Charity, as a cult which promoted the suffering of those under its care rather than helping those in need. He argues that Teresa's own words on poverty proved that her intention was not to actively end suffering, citing a 1981 press conference in which she was asked: "Do you teach the poor to endure their lot?" and responded, "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."
Associates[edit]
Hitchens details Mother Teresa's relationships with wealthy and corrupt individuals including Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier and his wife Michèle Duvalier, enigmatic quasi-religious figure John-Roger, and disgraced former financial executive Charles Keating. Hitchens argues that her support for unscrupulous figures contradicts the alleged humanitarianism of her work.
Charles Keating[edit]
The book includes the reproduction of a letter written by Mother Teresa on behalf of Charles Keating to Judge Lance Ito who was presiding over Keating's trial for defrauding his investors of billions of dollars. The letter urged the judge to consider the fact that Keating had donated generously ($1.25 million) to the Missionaries of Charity and suggested that Judge Ito "look into [his] heart" and "do what Jesus would do."
Hitchens also includes the contents of a letter written to Mother Teresa by the man prosecuting the case against Keating, Deputy District Attorney for Los Angeles Paul Turley. In the letter, Mr. Turley pointed out to Mother Teresa that Keating was on trial for stealing more than $250 million from over 17,000 investors in his business. In addition, Turley expresses his opinion that "[n]o church, no charity, no organization should allow itself to be used as a salve for the conscience of the criminal" and suggests:
"Ask yourself what Jesus would do if he were given the fruits of a crime; what Jesus would do if he were in possession of money that had been stolen; what Jesus would do if he were being exploited by a thief to ease his conscience? I submit that Jesus would promptly and unhesitatingly return the stolen property to its rightful owners. You should do the same. You have been given money by Mr. Keating that he has been convicted of stealing by fraud. Do not permit him the 'indulgence' he desires. Do not keep the money. Return it to those who worked for it and earned it! If you contact me I will put you in direct contact with the rightful owners of the property now in your possession."
After the conclusion of the letter, Hitchens notes: "Mr. Turley has received no reply to his letter. Nor can anyone account for the missing money: saints, it seems, are immune to audit."
Reviews[edit]
In The London Review of Books Amit Chaudhuri praised the book, "Hitchens’s investigations have been a solitary and courageous endeavour. The book is extremely well-written, with a sanity and sympathy that tempers its irony." However he commented that the portrait "is in danger of assuming the one-dimensionality of the Mother Teresa of her admirers", and that he finished the book without much more of an idea of the character and motivations of Mother Teresa.[2]
The San Francisco Bay Guardian says: "Anyone with ambivalent feelings about the influence of Catholic dogma (especially concerning sex and procreation); about the media's manufacture of images; or about what one can, should or shouldn't do for someone less fortunate, should read this book."[3] In 1996, The New York Times published a favourable review by Bruno Maddox in which he says: "Mr. Hitchens, a columnist at Vanity Fair and The Nation, is rather convincing" and "Hitchens argues his case with consummate style".[4]
The Sunday Times says: "A dirty job but someone had to do it. By the end of this elegantly written, brilliantly argued piece of polemic, it is not looking good for Mother Teresa."[3] Also in 1996, a critical review of the book was penned by William A. Donohue, president of The Catholic League, who comments: "If this sounds like nonsense, well, it is."[5]
Replying to a positive review of Hitchens' book in the New York Review of Books by Murray Kempton, Jesuit author James Martin offered a defense of Mother Teresa against the criticisms brought against her. Noting the difficulties involved with offering aid to the destitute in the developing world, he concluded by writing, "[R]egarding the 'poorest of the poor,' those who today die neglected, there would seem to be two choices. First, to cluck one’s tongue that such a group of people should even exist. Second, to act: to provide comfort and solace to these individuals as they face death. Mr. Kempton chooses the former. Mother Teresa, for all of her faults, chooses the latter."[6] In another letter in the same issue, literary critic and sinologist Simon Leys criticised Hitchens' portrayal of Mother Teresa, stating, "Bashing an elderly nun under an obscene label does not seem to be a particularly brave or stylish thing to do. Besides, it appears that the attacks which are being directed at Mother Teresa all boil down to one single crime: she endeavors to be a Christian, in the most literal sense of the word—which is (and always was, and will always remain) a most improper and unacceptable undertaking in this world."[6] Hitchens replied to Leys' letter in a subsequent issue,"[6] and Leys in turn defended his original stance, writing that Hitchens' book "contain[ed] a remarkable number of howlers on elementary aspects of Christianity" and accusing Hitchens of "a complete ignorance of the position of the Catholic Church on the issues of marriage, divorce, and remarriage" and a "strong and vehement distaste for Mother Teresa."[7]
References[edit]
- ^ Christopher Hitchens and Richard Brookhiser part 8/8, at 3 minutes 10 seconds
- ^ Chaudhuri, Amit. "Why Calcutta?". London Review of Books. Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
- ^ a b ""The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice," Verso Books".
- ^ Bruno Maddox (1996-01-14). "New York Times book review". Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
- ^ William Donohue (1996-03-19). "Hating Mother Theresa". Catholicleague.org. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
- ^ a b c Christopher Hitchens. "Mother Teresa". Nybooks.com. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
- ^ Simon Leys. "On Mother Teresa". Nybooks.com. Retrieved 2013-01-30.
External links[edit]
- Mommie Dearest - Slate article by Hitchens about Mother Teresa
- The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice at Google Books
- Donohue, William A. (19 March 1996). "Christopher Hitchens: The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice (review)". Catholic League. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
