On 13 Aug 10, the Catholic News Service reported that on 5 Sep 10, the United States Postal Service will release a stamp commemorating Mother Theresa. According to the report, the stamp will go on sale after it is it is dedicated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington. The report also noted that the dedication coincides with the feast day of Mother Theresa.
An article posted by The Compass on 11 Aug 10 observed that, “Although the stamp was just one of many projects Blackshear has done for the Postal Service, some aspects of Mother Teresa's life distinctly resonate with the artist -- in particular the idea that God has a specific mission for each person. A member of New Life Church in northern Colorado Springs, Blackshear said that his Christian art is not only a career, but a calling from God.”
According to a 30 Aug 09 Catholic News Agency article, Mother Theresa is noted for her work in the slums of Calcutta; teaching poor children and treating the sick. The article noted that Mother Theresa's work extended to 500 houses around the world which cared for “AIDS sufferers, for prostitutes, for battered women, and orphanages for poor children.” The Catholic Church beatified Mother Theresa on 19 Oct 2003, a step towards sainthood, approximately six years after she passed away on 5 Sep 1997.
According to a 29 Jan 10 FOX News report, the recognition of Mother Teresa's life work has draw criticism. The report related that the Freedom from Religion Foundation took issue with the USPS commemorative stamp pointing out that it violates Postal Service regulations. The FOX News report quoted Freedom from Religion Foundation spokeswoman Annie Laurie Gaylor as saying, “Mother Teresa is principally known as a religious figure who ran a religious institution. You can't really separate her being a nun and being a Roman Catholic from everything she did.”
The article also quoted Gaylor as saying, “"...There's this knee jerk response that everything she did was humanitarian, and I think many people would differ that what she was doing was to promote religion, and what she wanted to do was baptize people before they die, and that doesn't have a secular purpose for a stamp."
The FOX News report quoted another atheist, Bruce Sheiman, author of "An Atheist Defends Religion.” In response to Gaylor's comments, Sheiman opined to FOX News that “the Foundation's campaign stems from concern that the abundance of humanitarian work done by believers will overshadow that done by atheists.”
A 25 Aug 10 USA column related the controversy which continues to swirl around the life and works of Mother Theresa. The report related that she was criticized for continuing to build houses for the poor rather than medical clinics, although in the later stages of her ministry, she had the resources to build the clinics. The report also relates praise for here work by such notables as Rick Warren who lauded her unconditional love and service.
According to a 20 Jan 10 Freedom From Religion Foundation Action Alert, “It is against these postal regulations to 'honor religious institutions or individuals whose principal achievements are associated with religious undertakings or beliefs.'" The Action Alert continues to stated, “The Nobel Committee may choose to honor religious figures, but according to its own rules, the USPS absolutely may not. This is a wise policy to avoid the appearance of the US government favoring one religious figure over another or one religious denomination over others.”
The Action Alert continues, “Here's another objection: Mother Teresa used almost every public occasion, including her acceptance speech for the Nobel prize, to promote Roman Catholic dogma, especially its antiabortion ideology. Even during her Nobel acceptance, the nun delivered a gratuitous tirade against abortion.”
To continue to make their case, the Action Alert quoted Mother Teresa as saying, “"I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a direct war, a direct killing—direct murder by the mother herself. . . . Many people are very, very concerned with the children in India, with the children in Africa where quite a number die, maybe of malnutrition, of hunger and so on, but millions are dying deliberately by the will of the mother. And this is what is the greatest destroyer of peace today."
The Compass related that the stamp's artist dismissed those who would criticize the commemoration. The article quoted Blackshear as saying, “Look at what the woman did. There is nobody in the 20th century that comes close to the kind of life that woman led, and all the people that she helped. So why in the world would they make a big stink about something like that? It's ridiculous."
(One might wonder why those who profess they have no belief in God express so much anger and expend so much energy attacking faith. Are they so insecure in their disbelief that they must attempt to silence the faithful, lest the atheist might be tempted to believe? -- Prayer Soldier)
Cited Articles and Posts
USA Today (25 Aug 10)
The Compass (11 Aug 10)
http://www.thecompassnews.org/news/nation-and-world/1482-mother-teresa-stamp-arrives-on-aug-26.html
Catholic News Service (13 Aug 10)
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20100813.htm
Catholic News Agency (30 Aug 09)
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/september_5_to_mark_feast_day_of_blessed_teresa_of_calcutta/
FOX News (28 Jan 10)
Freedom From Religion Foundation (20 Jan 10)
