Mother Teresa: Beyond the Image

Mother Teresa of Calcutta--no figure alive today has received the adulation that she has, and she is frequently cited as the living embodiment of Christian kindness. Recipient of numerous humanitarian awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, she had been characterized as a living saint and commands unrivaled international attention, even at the highest levels. Yet the respect she has received has not been unanimous, and since 1990 serious criticisms have been directed at this modern icon, who had once seemed beyond reproach.

In this fascinating biography Anne Sebba reveals the truth behind Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity. She considers her attitudes toward abortion (women who have had abortions are hailed as murderers), rape (women who have been raped are given no help in terminating their pregnancy), her association with dictators such as the Duvaliers in Haiti, her medical negligence (inadequate use of painkillers, reuse of unsterilized needles), her ethics (she accepted hundreds of thousands of stolen dollars from S&L financier Charles Keating).

Alongside these unflattering aspects, this work also considers the highlights of her dedication to the sick, dying and destitute, and looks at the motivation that drives Mother Teresa. Hers is an extraordinary life, full of paradox. She has enormous courage, love and determination, and her work poses some of the most profound questions of our age.