Well, Steve, I have to say that I've never been a big fan of Mother Teresa. Part of that is the hysteria connected with her, plus the fact that there was no joy in her message. There are Christians for whom it seems that the proper spiritual life consists of wallowing in suffering so they can be happy in heaven - and I think Mother Teresa and her nuns fall into that category.

Still, I think the Hitchens excoriation of her, which you echo, is grossly unfair. I've encountered a number of her nuns in the U.S. and Europe, and they certainly don't seem to live a lavish lifestyle. But I'm used to nuns being funny, and passionate, and exciting, and generally brilliant. Her nuns seem to prefer to make suffering the mark of their lives.

But the Hitchens condemnation of Mother Teresa sounds like some sort of conspiracy theory. I just don't believe it.

And in all honesty, I have to admit that there are a few Catholic women in every parish for whom "wallowing in suffering" seems to be their chosen lot in life. They look horribly sad and are continually pregnant, and all their many children whine constantly and have runny noses. I can't imagine these women enjoying sex, and I never see their husbands around; so I suppose their drunken husbands show up on occasion to rape them and keep them pregnant (and to be honest, some of those husbands aren't drunks and seem to be loving fathers, but conservative). But I can't really think that's normal.

-Joe-