Notice that Steve Shaw said he could come up with "a dozen real Mother Teresa quotes at you to show what a horrid person she was." But he's not going to do that. He prefers to re-state what she said.

Then he says my "post regarding Mother Teresa is just one huge piece of Catholic spin, a classic in its way" - by he is mysteriously unable to back that statement up with anything specific.

My contention is that both Mother Teresa and Junipero Serra had plenty of flaws. If you look at the lives of the saints, you'll find all sorts of fascinating weirdnesses. And yeah, I freely admit that Catholics ignore a lot of the shortcomings of the saints. I hope that I, too, with be judged for the good things I've done and that the bad things will be forgotten or at least understood. I'm sure that my grandmother had her faults and I know that she had a rocky relationship with my grandfather, but to me she was the most wonderful woman who ever lived - and I consider her to be a saint.

Now it's clear that for Steve, a person's ideology is a very important factor in that person's character. And since he disagrees with Mother Teresa's ideology, he finds her to be a horrible person. I don't agree with her ideology, either; but I think she did the best she could with her life within that context. I'm sure that if Mother Teresa and Junipero Serra were in my congregation, we'd have frequent, bitter disagreements. It's a real stretch to be able to find goodness and value in people I disagree with - but I think that's what people have to do if they want to see harmony in this world.

And I keep trying. Heck, I've even succeeded in being able to not consider Steve Shaw to be a horrible person....

So, and then there's Greg F, who brings up Pol Pot as an example of somebody whose evil even the demonizers couldn't exaggerate. And I suppose he's got me there, but Mother Teresa and Junipero Serra were no Pol Pot. Greg calls Serra "St. Genocide." Very clever, but rather unsubstantiated.

Still, I think that what the Americans did to the Indians WAS genocide. The Spanish conquest of California was one part of that genocide, but the guilt for the genocide must be borne by all people of European ancestry - on both sides of the Atlantic. I suppose we could place the blame on the Ruling Classes, and thus escape any clout of responsibility inherited from our ancestors, but would that be accurate?

I think we're best off admitting that none of us have ancestors who were perfect - and our descendants will someday realize that we weren't perfect, either. So, then, how should we deal with the truth that our ancestors were flawed? Is it wrong for us to cherish their memory. How should we regard anyone who has done something wrong, sometime in their lives?

I think we should cherish the memory of what they meant to us, of the good things they have done. And perhaps we should forgive their faults, since we all have faults.

I will repeat: despite her faults, Mother Teresa called the attention of the world to those who were poor and suffering. And Fr. Serra built 9 beautiful missions, a lingering reminder to us that somebody was here before we got here. Some people cherish their memory.

Oh, regarding Mother Teresa, Steve Shaw says "she could easily become the fastest-tracked saint in history." John Paul II died in 2005. He was declared a saint in 2014. John Paul, by the way, single-handedly dismantled many of the accomplishments of Vatican II. Mother Teresa died in 1997, and she's not a saint yet. Do the math.

That's Steve Shaw for ya. All spin, little fact. And he can't do the math.

-Joe Offer-