Mother Teresa of Calcutta:  Is she a living saint who saves the poorest of the poor from lonely deaths on the street, with the help of devoted, inspired nuns?  Or is she a hypocritical, arrogant fund-raiser who uses her reputation to promote the Catholic political agenda and her own organization?

These two documentaries have generated controversy and a fair amount of media coverage in the Baltimore area.  The hard-to-find movie "Hell's Angel" was first shown at the Baltimore Museum of Art as part of a film series, "Believers: The Impact of Religious Fundamentalism."  The series had films concerning many religions, including Zionism, Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism.  To the surprise of the series organizers, the Mother Teresa film generated by far the most controversy.  The film inspired several newspaper articles and local TV news stories.  As a result of the controversy, it was reshown along with "Something Beautiful for God," a BBC film by Malcolm Muggeridge from 1969 that was very complementary to Mother Teresa.  Christopher Hitchens, the writer and narrator of "Angel," was present to answer questions.  A large turnout of 400-500 spectators saw the film, and most seemed to be sympathetic to Hitchens, although there was a significant pro-Mother Teresa group.

The Muggeridge film was shown first.  It was a tribute to Mother Teresa's order in Calcutta.  Mother Teresa, an Albanian nun, took her vows as a nun in 1937 and decided to "serve the poorest of the poor" in Calcutta.  She took in the poor, homeless, diseased, and dying, gave them food and shelter, and showed them love that no one else would.  She told Muggeridge that it was important for modern people to have faith and to treat everyone as they would deal with Christ.

The Hitchens film was short at 25 minutes and had many witty, pithy comments.  It had pointed criticisms of Mother Teresa.  For example, her care of the poor consisted mainly of getting them off the street and giving them a small cot in a crowded room.  There was little medical care, except possibly by volunteer doctors, and poor sanitation, including reuse of unsterilized syringes.  

As a result of media attention of her work with the poor, Mother Teresa seems to be uncritically accepted as an exemplary Christian or even a true saint, whose motives can't be questioned.  Unfortunately, she has a pattern of using her saintly status for worldly ends.  She travels the globe accepting donations and awards, sometimes from such unsavory characters as former Haitian dictator Duvalier and convicted savings-and-loan thief Charles Keating, Jr.  In return, she has given glowing character references for these people.  She also acts as a roving ambassador for the pope.  Even though she claims to be nonpolitical, she has talked to heads of state, such as Thatcher and Reagan, and lobbied for very conservative political agendas.  Her favorite Catholic prohibitions are against birth control and abortion, and she routinely speaks out against them in the strongest terms.  These charges were all supported by video clips in the film.

Hitchens challenged her actions with outright incredulity in the film, in his comments after the film, and in his book The Missionary Position:  Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice (Verso, London, 1995).  He doesn't seem to have completely decided whether Mother Teresa believes she really is a saint or whether she is intentionally exploiting her fame.  He says she seems to have a certain "low cunning" and "arrogance."  She is arrogant for claiming to be humble and modest while also claiming she does the work of God.  She seems to think she knows what is good for the poor better than they do.   She doesn't seem to notice the incongruity between lobbying against both birth control and abortion even though she has watched unwanted children die for decades in her shelters.  

In addition, where does all the money go that she collects?  Her Calcutta organization is not noticeably different than it was 30 years ago, with no hospitals or housing projects.  Millions of dollars of gifts and prizes have had no visible effect.  But now she has set up similar orders, in her name, in over a hundred other countries, all equally poorly supported.  Is she more concerned with helping the poor or with setting up religious organizations of her followers?

Hitchens also made some comments directed at humanists.  He said that people in secular society should be resolute in their principles, and they should not accept the word of a "saint" without question.  He was unapologetically atheistic.  Even so, he was offended by media attacks that said he was anti-Catholic.  He had nothing against mainstream theists or Catholics, only against the fundamentalists whom he defines as believers who want to force everyone to believe the same thing that they do.  When he was questioned by people who were clearly sympathetic to Mother Teresa, Hitchens made an attempt to be gentle in his criticism, even while he was unwavering in his position.  Americans of all ideologies could learn a great deal from this approach.