Was Mother Teresa kind to the unfortunate?

Answer 1

Yes, Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity were kind to the poorest of the poor. She lived by the gospel, especially Matthew 25:

"Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. . . . . ËœTruly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."

Answer 2

As a person, Mother Teresa was an interesting mixture of the compassionate and the unfeeling. Mother Teresa gave the dying destitute the opportunity to die in dignity, but refused to provide strong painkillers, even for those with the unbearable pain of cancer. She cared for those with leprosy, but did not provide the antibiotics that would have cured them. Certainly Mother Teresa's order had ample funds to provide pain relief and antibiotics, but these funds were more urgently needed for the order's missions, to spread the Catholic faith. Mother Teresa gloried in the suffering of those around her, believing that it was God's will that they suffer, yet sought the best possible health care for herself and never refused strong pain relief.

When New York City offered to pay for the mandated installation of an elevator in a building donated to the order for use as a refuge for homeless people, this was refused as a 'luxury' because the sisters could carry disabled men down the stairs. Her order's public display of compassion was more important than allowing disabled persons some measure of independence and dignity.