Calcutta: Support poured in for Missionaries of Charity (MoCs) from different neighborhoods, including an interfaith organization with representation from all communities.
“We will provide all the help and support necessary to the Missionaries of Charity sisters and brothers in the management of their centers in the service of humanity,” said United Interfaith Foundation-India General Secretary Satnam Singh Ahluwalia. He said that the people of TOI in Kolkata could not forget Mother Teresa’s contribution to society. “She gave up all the possessions in the world, slept on the floor, led a simple life and served humanity. She helped the poorest of the poor. We will support his organization in this time of need, ”he said.
Ahluwalia, also founder of the IHA Foundation which has helped people feed themselves during the pandemic and past disasters, said no MoC inmate would go hungry. “Whether it is a ration, a meal or any other assistance, we will make sure that the Missionaries of Charity get it,” he added.
Although the Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, in a statement released on Monday, said his bank accounts had not been frozen, it was acknowledged that the FCRA’s renewal request had not been approved and, by therefore, centers were requested not to use FC accounts. MoC, which has chapters around the world, receives volunteers and donations from all over the world. Although the arrival of volunteers has stopped in the pandemic, philanthropists and the common man continue to contribute to the cause.
“The funds for all the work MoC does for the poorest of the poor come from generous people around the world. This reduction will be a blow to their efforts to reach out to those in distress. It will be debilitating, ”said Angelina Jasnani, president of the Catholic Association of Bengal, urging the Union Home Ministry to find a way to ensure that the poor do not suffer and at the same time meet all standards of the FCRA are respected. “If Missionaries of Charity is not able to use the FC account, all of its work will stop and the poor will find themselves exploited again,” Jasnani said.
On religious conversion allegations cited in some quarters for rejecting FCRA’s renewal request, Sunita Kumar, a longtime associate of Mother Teresa, said she had never seen Christianity forced on anyone. during its 45 years of association with the Ministry of Culture. “There have been allegations in the past, including those by British American journalist Christopher Hitchens, who called Mother a fundamentalist. I was shocked and angry to read the allegations because none of it was true. Mother Teresa was not disturbed. ‘We will pray for him,’ that’s all Mother said, ”Kumar said.