Status: December 28, 2021 1:36 p.m.
The Indian government has banned Mother Teresa’s aid organization from accepting donations from abroad. It is the latest measure taken by Hindu nationalists against religious minorities in the country.
The Catholic aid organization Missionaries of Charity, founded by the religious sister Mother Teresa, is no longer allowed to accept money from foreign donors. Existing amounts may no longer be spent.
The Indian Ministry of the Interior announced that the aid organization no longer met the requirements for receiving foreign funds. There were “undesirable contributions” that had to be checked. More precise information was not given.
About two weeks ago, the police began investigations against the Missionaries of Charity for allegedly forcing Hindus to convert to Christianity. The organization denied the allegations.
“Lots of harassment against Christians”
The director of the church aid organization Missio Austria, Karl Wallner, called the decision “not unexpected”. It fits in with a series of “many harassments against Christians” in India for years. Since the Hindu nationalist government took office in 2014, activists in the country have complained of increasing discrimination against members of religious minorities.
The Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Calcutta, Dominic Gomes, described the latest move by the Interior Ministry as a “cruel Christmas present for the poor”.
Missionaries of Charity was founded by Mother Teresa in 1950 and operates shelters for poor people across India. According to the daily “Hindu”, the organization received the equivalent of around 662 million euros from abroad in the 2020/21 budget year.
With information from Silke Diettrich, ARD Studio New Delhi
India stops foreign funding for orders of Mother Teresa
Silke Diettrich, ARD New Delhi, December 28, 2021 12:39 p.m.