1. Mother Teresa Is Made a Saint by Pope Francis, By Elisabetta Povoledo. The New York Times, September 5, 2016, Pg. A7.
She was known throughout the world as Mother Teresa, considered a saint by many for her charitable work among the poorest of the world’s poor. On Sunday morning, Pope Francis officially bestowed that title at her canonization ceremony in St. Peter’s Square.
“I think, perhaps, we may have some difficulty in calling her St. Teresa: Her holiness is so near to us, so tender and so fruitful, that we continue to spontaneously call her Mother Teresa,” the pope said in off-the-cuff remarks during his homily.
It was a festive atmosphere at the Vatican, under a broiling summer sun, and several flags fluttered in the light breeze: from Albania, representing the Roman Catholic nun’s ethnic origins; from Macedonia, to note her birthplace, Skopje; from India, where she spent most of her life, working in the slums of Kolkata; and from the many other countries where her humility and selflessness touched countless lives.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/05/world/europe/mother-teresa-named-saint-by-pope-francis.html
2. Egypt’s Christians Say They Are at a ‘Breaking Point’, By Rod Nordland. The New York Times, September 5, 2016, Pg. A4.
The Egyptian government has appointed Imam Mahmoud Gomaa, a Muslim cleric, to keep the peace between Christians and Muslims in this corner of upper Egypt. “Everything is good,” he insisted in an interview, citing Christian participation in his official peace-building initiative.
But just a few hours later, the local bishop, Makarios, offered a very different view. “I have nothing to do with Mahmoud Gomaa,” he said.
Once again, Egyptian Christians are feeling under siege, at least in Minya, a city on the banks of the Nile where about 40 percent of the population is Christian. And once again, Christian leaders are divided over how to respond.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/05/world/middleeast/egypt-middleeast-copts-christians.html?
3. Pope Francis declares Mother Teresa a saint, Seen as defining moment of Holy Year of Mercy, By Bradford Richardson. The Washington Times, September 5, 2016, Pg. A1.
Maureen Ferguson, senior policy adviser for the Catholic Association, echoed those sentiments, highlighting St. Teresa’s “radical respect for human dignity.”
“Her canonization is a reminder of her call to see the face of God in every person, especially the most fragile among us, the poor, the unborn, the elderly and the infirm,” Ms. Ferguson said in a statement.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/sep/4/pope-francis-mother-teresa-a-saint/
4. Mother Teresa’s 1994 Message to the Supreme Court on Abortion, By St. Teresa of Calcutta. The Public Discourse, September 5, 2016.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta was canonized yesterday by Pope Francis. In 1994, she submitted an amicus brief, filed by her counsel Robert P. George, pleading with the United States Supreme Court to reverse its decision in Roe v. Wade. The text of her brief appears below.
http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2016/09/17771/
5. Mother Teresa Canonized as a Saint by Pope Francis, Crowd of 120,000 gathers in St. Peter’s Square for proclamation, By Francis X. Rocca in Vatican City and Daniel Stacey in Kolkata. The Wall Street Journal, September 4, 2016, 10:55 PM ET.
Pope Francis proclaimed Mother Teresa a saint on Sunday, bestowing the Catholic Church’s highest honor on one of the most widely admired public figures in recent history.
In a unifying gesture, the pope highlighted aspects of the new saint’s legacy appealing to opposite sides of a fractious divide: Catholics who champion traditional moral teachings and those focused on economic justice. Pope Francis presented Mother Teresa’s opposition to abortion and her dedication to the poor as facets of a single mission.
The canonization ceremony took place under a broiling sun before a crowd of 120,000 in St. Peter’s Square, according to Vatican estimates. Behind the pope, on the facade of St. Peter’s Basilica, hung a banner-size portrait of Mother Teresa, one of the late 20th century’s most recognizable faces.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/mother-teresa-canonized-as-a-saint-by-pope-francis-1472980320
6. Why sainthood for Mother Teresa matters after all, By John L. Allen Jr., Editor. Crux, September 4, 2016.
In the abstract, one could make an awfully compelling case that today’s canonization ceremony for Mother Teresa in St. Peter’s Square, despite being a major logistical undertaking in Rome, is the least significant ecclesiastical event in recent memory.
Theologically, after all, a canonization doesn’t accomplish anything for the new saint, who’s already believed to be in heaven enjoying the company of God. Canonizations are for the rest of us, a way of lifting up a particular person as a role model for a holy life. It usually makes that saint better known, proposing him or her as a figure of devotion and inspiration for the entire Church.
If any Catholic figure of the modern era did not require a special event in order to be better known, it’s Mother Teresa – now St. Teresa of Calcutta.
Yet there is nevertheless a sense in which formally bestowing a halo on Mother Teresa matters, perhaps not so much in the traditional sense, but rather as a towering and permanent reminder of a key insight about the nature of the Catholic Church.
Here it is, put as simply as possible: Office is fleeting, but holiness is forever. Power in Catholicism isn’t ultimately about what role one holds, but how compelling a life one leads.
https://cruxnow.com/analysis/2016/09/04/sainthood-mother-teresa-matters/
7. Holy Mass and Rite of Canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Saint Peter’s Square. Homily of His Holiness Pope Francis, September 4, 2016.
“Who can learn the counsel of God?” (Wis 9:13). This question from the Book of Wisdom that we have just heard in the first reading suggests that our life is a mystery and that we do not possess the key to understanding it. There are always two protagonists in history: God and man. Our task is to perceive the call of God and then to do his will. But in order to do his will, we must ask ourselves, “What is God’s will in my life?”
8. Following lead of Pope John Paul II, Francis picks up pace of saintmaking, By Anthony Faiola. The Washington Post, September 3, 2016, Pg. A1.
Pope Francis will canonize Mother Teresa on Sunday, declaring the sainthood of a 20th-century figure renowned for her ministry to the poor and dying. Yet as the pope celebrates her sanctity, he will also be furthering a boom in the business of minting saints during his papacy.
Theologians and papal watchers say Francis is proclaiming new saints at a rate not seen since the heady days of John Paul II, the church’s canonization champion. In his 3 1/2 years as pope, Francis has presided over 29 canonizations — 11 more than Benedict XVI, his predecessor, at the same point in his papacy. If you consider that one of Francis’s canonizations involved 813 15th-century Italian martyrs, he may even hold the record — a record the pope is said to have jokingly embraced.
9. Mother Teresa’s Other Lifework: Corporate Chieftain of a Global Religious Order, By Francis X. Rocca. The Wall Street Journal, September 3, 2016, Pg. A6, World News.
Mother Teresa, whom Pope Francis will canonize as a saint on Sunday, is known around the world as an icon of charity, having spent half a century caring for the “poorest of the poor” in India.
She is less well-known as the astute builder of a hugely successful religious order whose strong corporate culture would be the envy of many global firms.
Mother Teresa’s clear vision, personal charisma and sheer force of will—all inseparable from her deep religious commitment—allowed her to succeed where many charitable organizations, both religious and secular, have failed.
10. In India, Teresa Draws Devotees of All Faiths, By Daniel Stacey. The Wall Street Journal, September 3, 2016, Pg. A6, World News.
Making Mother Teresa a Catholic saint took almost 20 years of confirming miracles, paperwork and papal promotion, but in Kolkata, the city where she worked for most of her life, some Hindus have been worshiping her as a local goddess for years.
Indeed, Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity organization, based in Kolkata, has always adopted local religious symbols and rituals to court the support of other faiths for its charitable work and to make everyone feel welcome.
“All is God,” the nun once said in an interview. “Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, etc., all have access to the same God.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/in-india-teresa-draws-devotees-of-all-faiths-1472857787
11. Q & A with Fr. Roger Landry on the UN’s exhibit on Mother Teresa, By Chris Herlinger. Global Sisters Report, Project of National Catholic Reporter, September 1, 2016.
Fr. Roger J. Landry is a priest of the diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, and is also Attaché and Director of Special Events for the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations.
The Holy See mission to the U.N. and ADF International, a religious freedom advocacy organization, are sponsoring a two-part celebration of Mother Teresa and her work during the week following her Sept. 4 canonization and in anticipation of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Missionaries of Charity on Sept. 10. This includes a Sept. 6-9 exhibit at the U.N.
Landry, 46, recently spoke to GSR about the exhibit and the celebration of the life of Mother Teresa.
http://globalsistersreport.org/blog/q/q-fr-roger-landry-united-nations-exhibit-mother-teresa-42061
