We are capable of idolizing people because of the world fame they have acquired and think that all the good they have done is because their mission in life is the search for peace, but we forget that like any human being, popular icons can also make the mistake of doing regrettable actions that are not exactly peaceful or that benefit society.
When we think of people who sought world peace and dedicated themselves to doing good and living an altruistic life, we immediately think of figures like Gandhi or Mother Teresa of Calcutta, but they too did despicable actions of which we cannot be proud to believe that they stood for peace and altruism.
The Dark Side of Mother Theresa of Calcutta
“The suffering of the poor will save the world,” she once said. For many, she was a person who defended noble causes, but to think that it was necessary to sacrifice in suffering people who were at a social disadvantage does not speak of a good heart, much less of someone who will sacrifice something personal for the common good.
Mother Teresa became world famous due to a BBC documentary where they talked about her altruistic work with sick and poor people. It was so popular that they decided to give her donations of money so that she could have a shelter for the sick and take care of them; however, this shelter was known as the house of death by the doctors; the sick were in deplorable conditions and a very dirty and unhygienic environment, they were forced to wear shaved heads and could not receive visitors.
Despite receiving huge donations from all over the world, the place was in deplorable conditions to the point that even the needles were often reused, the medicines used were expired, and they let the sick die in agony so that they could receive God’s love. “There is something beautiful in seeing the poor accept their fate, they suffer like the passion of Christ,” said Mother Teresa.
She dedicated her life to converting people to Catholicism in India, even though this religion is a minority in the country. Although when she got sick she did go to luxury hospitals with modern technology, which was very contradictory because in her shelters there was not even a trained staff to care for the sick and let them die so they would not represent a loss of profits. Even the ambulances that were donated to her were not even used to carry the sick but as means of transport for the nuns.
Although all these horrible practices were unveiled to the public, the fact that her figure was often related to the sanctity of Christianity made people discard the negative aspects of this nun’s life. Her missionary work took over the narrative, and history ignored the horrible things people under her care endured.
Religion and faith are not bad, what is bad is to believe in false prophets who only see for themselves and use religion for their benefit, taking advantage of their vulnerability and not having the possibility to improve and leave it in the hands of God.