Should Mother Theresa's letters have been destroyed?

Question

I read that Mother Theresa requested that her personal letters detailing her spiritual struggles be destroyed after her death.

Does anyone know why they weren't, and should they have been, or is it better for them to be published? If so, why?

I am a little offended that her wishes were not honored, although I am fascinated by her mission and her struggle.

It is my understanding that these are letters that were written to her spiritual advisor. Isn't it an ultimate betrayal that he is publishing them?

Answer 1

The Church truly needed them for the beatification/canonization process. She is now Blessed Theresa of Calcutta, not just "Mother". As far as them being published, I am torn. They gave such an insight into the life of a Saint. I think of Sister Faustina's Diary, which she was told to write by her spiritual advisor.

Answer 2

I think that her wishes should have been honored, even if it met we missed out by not getting an opportunity to read them. At the very least, the royalties should go to charity. I think that is what she would have wanted if she knew they'd be published. I hope the book gives comfort to others who are suffering a similar test of faith.

"I have found the great paradox of love is if you love until it hurts- then there is no more hurt, only more love." Mother Teresa

Answer 3

"Mother" Teresa was a fraud. Since she didn't respect anyone except the rich and powerful I guess that some see no reason to respect her, especially since she no longer exists, and can't be effected by anything.

http://www.randi.org/jr/102502.html
Is a Mother Teresa-inspired miracle that's been recognized by the Vatican a complete and utter fraud? Absolutely, says the husband of a woman whose purported tumor vanished after she applied a medallion of the beloved nun to the site of her pain. "My wife was cured by the doctors and not by any miracle," Seiku Besra told Time magazine.

http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php?section=library&page=shields_18_ 1
When Mother spoke publicly, she never asked for money, but she did encourage people to make sacrifices for the poor, to "give until it hurts." Many people did - and they gave it to her. We received touching letters from people, sometimes apparently poor themselves, who were making sacrifices to send us a little money for the starving people in Africa, the flood victims in Bangladesh, or the poor children in India. Most of the money sat in our bank accounts.

http://www.salon.com/sept97/news/news3970905.html
What about her celebrated concern for the poor and the weak? Here the record is much murkier than her saintly image would suggest. I have been shown testimony from leading American and British physicians, expressing their concern at the extremely low standard of medicine practiced in her small Calcutta clinics. No pain killers, syringes washed in cold water, a fatalistic attitude toward death and a strict regimen for the patients. No public accounts were made available by her "missionaries of Charity" but enormous sums are known to have been raised. The income from such awards as the Nobel Prize is alone enough to maintain a sizable operation. In one on-the-record interview, Mother Teresa spoke with pride of having opened more than 500 convents in 125 countries, "not counting India." It seemed more than probable that money donated by well-wishers for the relief of suffering was being employed for the purpose of religious proselytizing by the "missionary multinational."

Answer 4

This is proof to you that even God's elect can have doubts, and still enter the Kingdom. What was put in a letter does not condemn a person. What is in the soul does.

Answer 5

It isn't right that her wishes weren't honored, but there's no use crying over spilt milk. I'm interested to see a more human side of her.

Answer 6

They weren't because they wanted to make money off of them. I think it would have been good to follow her wishes BUT I appreciate having this inside view of her now.

Answer 7

Well I've never heard that she wanted them destroyed but I think publishing them could be a good thing because it would sow that even her who was such a holy woman strugled with her faith. This would help others with their strugle about their faith.

Answer 8

no,itshows that even the most faithful can be tempted with doubt,it is the fact that she didnt give up on god.i think the letters were exposed for a purpose,maybe an inspiration for someone

Answer 9

I think they should have been honored,but we would have never found out some of her conflicts within...
I wouldn't have wanted to destroy them if I had them..almost sacred.It shows she was human just like us.

Answer 10

No, they show how faithful she was to Christ and to suffering humanity that she persisted in serving God even when she felt unconsoled and spiritually lonely;
she trusted and loved God even when she could not feel His presence