Archbishop of Calcutta defends Mother Teresa's spirituality

A Roman Catholic Archbishop of Calcutta, Lucas Sirkar, defending Mother Teresa's sanctity said, the public lack spirituality and that this is a major reason for the misunderstanding of the saint.

During an interview in his office on the 10th anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa, Sirkar told Ecumenical News International (ENI), "Those who are questioning the faith of the Mother have no idea of what is spiritual life."

A book of letters written by Mother Teresa of Calcutta reveals for the first time that she was deeply tormented about her faith and suffered periods of doubt about God.

"Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear," she wrote the Rev. Michael van der Peet in 1979.


ENI quoted the Archbishop saying, "The more you move forward in the path to saintliness or holiness, the more you have to struggle against that which is not holy. Unfortunately, those who have raised the issue have no understanding of spiritual or sacramental life."

"Many are weak in their religious life and are not able to grasp the feelings the Mother has expressed in her letters."

Archbishop Sirkar, during a memorial Mass on the 10th anniversary of Mother Teresa's death hailed her "deep faith" and said it was faith alone that enabled the nun to dedicate herself to God and in the service of the poor.