57. The Saint (Mother Teresa)
Critics and former volunteers reveal the disturbing details of a Catholic nun's international mission to help the "poorest of the poor."
Prelude: A six-year-old boy's journey to Heaven becomes a best-selling book.
Thanks for being a ValuedListener™! :-)
Use coupon code PATRON20 to receive 20% off your order at SwindledPodcast.com/Shop
Original music for Swindled is written and performed by Trevor Howard (Deformr).
Comments (43)
Great episode. Hitchens did himself no favors; like so many professional atheists, he came across so snide and dismissive that you didn't want him on your side.
Ah! Ma T! What a fucking fucking fucking CUNT
I work in a second hand bookshop and we have a fair few books about how Mother T’s wonderful. I want to burn them all.
That music with the kids gets me EVERY time I hear it.
Word.
This episode was truly masterful. Just as we are all desperately grasping at our last remaining iota of hope for humanity, in comes ACC to smash the myth of Mother Fucking Mother Teresa. 🤯
Is it possible to fall in love with someone based solely on their voice and podcast? But seriously, I love you, ACC! I truly love your podcast and your voice has become my comfort and gets me through my work days! Thank you for all your hard work and creativity. The world is so much better knowing you’re in it (sorry, not trying to be mushy...just obsessed with you and Swindled)!
;)
You are killing it this season. RIP Mother Theresa... Thank you, ACC.
"Human garbage can Laura Ingram." Just call me a prime number right now because I can't EVEN
i love you
My favorite podcast just released my favorite episode. Seriously, this was amazing. Thank you for your research, perspective, and whimsical commentary on such a challenging topic. To stop the swindlers, we first have to agree to whom they are. And right now, even calling out some openly causes controversy. This sort of media makes this discourse possible.
This was incredible. I'd heard only fragments over the years, and only then 'cos my mom is a lapsed Catholic. I hope you're not taking any more heat than normal over this one - keep up the good work, man.
Ah Mother!!!
Holy crap! I had no idea that mother Theresa was a terrible person and a pawn. I'm not religious so I didn't know much about her. I thought she was a nice lady that helped the poor and dying. This podcast completely changes my perspective on her! she’s in our daily vernacular her name is synonymous with absolute goodness and selflessness. Thank you for making his podcast and educating me.
Brilliant episode S. Knew this would stir up some controversy on here. Love it 😊
“A whole life of servitude only to get a promotion to middle management.” I love your one-liners so much.
Well, ACC, I must state that I think you do your usual rigor a disservice. This was found by me with a quick Google search, and I only did so because I feel that Hitchens was one of the more disingenuous amongst the breed of atheists. There were wonderful people of such beliefs such as Stephen J Gould and Carl Sagan, but Hitchens really liked to ramp up the controversy to build his own cult following, and it shows in the lackluster sensationalism of many of his works. Just because you have critiques of the Church and its many wings in plastering over the abuses and mismanagement of Teresa and cohorts doesn't mean you should automatically accept people such as Hitchens as credible. The man had grand ego, a desire to sell books, and a massive bone to pick, and those do not in my books disqualify ones account. But neither do his critiques and beliefs make his position or assertions accurate and I feel disappointed because your research historically speaking has been so much more detailed. On top of that, to take Hitchens as credible, a man who wore his agenda on his sleeve, but to then discredit or discount the opinions of Catholic sources doing the same does not seem fair. I understand you are one Citizen with one opinion and channel, but if you discount the facts to arrive at a notion that agrees with your own worldview, is that not the exact thing you critique in those who blindly embrace and praise Teresa? The poet Dante argued that simoners, hypocrites, and ecclesiastical criminals would roast deeper in hell than atheists, heretics, or murderers, and I invite you to see that people of religious conviction would look (and indeed, do look) upon many of the behaviors identified in the practices of Teresa with extreme distaste and oftentimes outright condemnation. I want to be clear, too: I have some faith. I am of the Orthodox persuasion, but that doesn't take away from the fact I enjoy your podcast and respect your difference of opinion from my own, as well as the fact that you do a great job calling out fraudsters and con artists wherever you see them. I do, however, invite you to consider that it is just as easy to fall prey to our own convictions or preconceptions when critiquing others, and therefore overlooking the bad faith and sensationalism of many of the sources trying to provide one perspective on a complex issue. Had you been lampooning more cut and dry case of clerical corruption, such as the sale of indulgences, the complicity of the Patriarch of Romania with Ceausescu (indeed, many priests broke the seal of confession to report on parishioners to the Securitate), or the entire Avignon Papcy I'd applaud your perspective. Here though I think you gave into the opinions too easily of someone arguing in bad faith against a woman who was, admittedly, poor at her job and subject to a variety of troublesome beliefs and bad actions. But to take the Hitchens perspective largely uncritically is, in my estimation, not what your podcast has usually done.
I haven't had a chance to look at that reddit post, but again, Hitchens was only one of the critics. There's also Chatterjee, S. Bedford, and a slew of former volunteers such as Mary Loudon, Susan Shields, etc. Not to mention the Canadian researchers and Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, the former mayor of Calcutta.
I'm a big fan of the podcast and have been a patron for years, but I really didn't like this episode. I'm not even particularly pro-Teresa or her methods, but I felt this podcast essentially parroted the opinions of Hitchens with minimal scrutiny. This surprises me as ACC is usually quite critical. Even a typical Google search brought me an excellently researched post on Reddit that gives an academic and balanced critique of much of the content in this episode. https://www.reddit.com/r/badhistory/comments/gcxpr5/saint_mother_teresa_was_documented_mass_murderer/?utm_source=amp&utm_medium=&utm_content=post_body Love the podcast, love the host, not a fan of the episode.
Thanks! I'll check out the link. I did search for resources that discounted Hitchens' claims but most of them came from individuals or groups related to the Catholic church, which doesn't hold much water with me. On the other hand, I found multiple sources and volunteer accounts backing up Hitchens' accusations. I'll definitely take a look. Thanks for sharing.
“Human Garbage Can Laura Ingraham” 😩💀
Woah I guess I'm gonna need to listen to this one.... reading comments above saying Mother Theresa is no saint!?!?! I guess I've been living under a rock because I am unaware of anything negative around Mother Theresa! I've been type who takes people at their words my entire life but past 5 or so years my eyes have been opened and I kinda wish I could go back to being a naive citizen it was easier that way...but I'm not able to do that. Sooo looking forward to hearing some new information!! I love Swindled Podcast!
I always get suspicious when people start talking about how there are too many people, particularly when it's brown people there happen to be too many of. Like do they mean in the sense that folks should have the option to control if or when they get pregnant? Do they mean the environment can't support the size of the population? Or do they mean there are too many brown people for their tastes? Of course the opposite, encouraging people to have pregnancies regardless of circumstance, is blatantly malicious. I'm always low-key on the lookout for eugenics because I find it really terrifying and fascinating. I don't have a conclusion to this thought lol. It's just something that came to mind while listening.
I’d posit Mother Teresa is a racist colonialist tool of the Catholic Church. They want to spread the faith, no matter what, and that is why they are against abortion (abortion=less people =less believers) no matter how much unnecessary suffering it means. It’s a well documented fact that more developed nations with more liberated/emancipated women have less offspring. Even within these countries, the more educated and emancipated = the less offspring per woman. The Catholic Church is against liberating women. I understand where you’re coming from though, absolutely.
Great podcast, as usual!
RIP Hitchens, the world needs another Christopher now more than ever. This episode convinced me to subscribe to patreon. Don't stop!
I’m so happy I got to see him in Atlanta in 2007. He was a gem!
Been waiting for this one. Nobody who cites her knows anything about her. We have Hitchens to thank.
Yass
It's too bad Hitchens went into Islamophobia burqa banning whacko-land. "He who fights monsters..."
Yeah he's an absolute piece of work. So hateful.
😯
One of my favourite things to do is tell people how terrible she is and it blows people's minds!
She was a total fraud. Terrible woman
Sooo.. this is super dark. I know I have heard some of it before, but this really nails the cross to the wall one might say.. Excellent episode, - as always. 😌🙌👏
OMG This is IT
Oh man!!! Listening now!!!
I have wanted this for ages, so excited. I know people have said she was actually awful but know nothing.
See you in hell!
I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with saints.
Awesome! When I tell ppl how horrible Mother Theresa was they look at me like I’m crazy.
Oooooo I know this one's gonna be good