Unfounded claims that Mother Teresa trafficked children circulate online
Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic nun, founded the Missionaries of Charity organization in 1950.
(Reuters) - There are no credible reports of Mother Teresa being involved with child trafficking, or “selling babies,” during her life, contrary to claims being shared by social media users online.
Posts (here) and (here) include a photograph of three nuns, including Mother Teresa, with a young Dr. Anthony Fauci and says, in part, “Mother Theresa – Sold Babies & Was Used In Photo Ops Throughout The 1980’s When She Was Pushed On Us As A Saint!”
Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic nun, founded the Missionaries of Charity organization in 1950 (here). She led the charity (www.missionariesofcharity.org/) until shortly before her death in September of 1997.
The organization became linked to a child-trafficking scandal over 20 years after Teresa’s death, in 2018, when a woman from Missionaries of Charity was arrested for selling a 14-day-old baby, the BBC reported (here). A Reuters report that same year says the Indian government had ordered investigations into the organization following trafficking concerns (here).
While there is plenty of reporting about the 2018 incident, Reuters found no reports to support the claim that Mother Teresa herself sold babies or was involved in child trafficking (bit.ly/3xuRIWY).
Reports on criticisms received by Mother Teresa for her strict views on contraception, abortion and divorce, as well as poor conditions and treatment of sick people at the Kalighat hospice, can be seen (here), (here) and (here).
Reuter has debunked the previously circulating claim that Mother Teresa was Fauci’s mother (here).
Representatives for Missionaries of Charity did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.
VERDICT
No evidence. There are no reports to support the claim that Mother Teresa was involved in child trafficking.
