Is Mother Teresa Embarrassed?

Are modern day Catholics embarrassing Mother Teresa? In a column in the Washington Post, Tracy Grant makes the case that we are.

It did all start with the Empire State Building’s refusal to honor Mother Teresa by lighting the building with blue and white lights.

As I blogged about here at NCRegister, the Catholic League’s Bill Donohue responded with his usual outrage. But this conflict has since spiraled even further downward.

This week, Catholics for Choice, and a dozen other dissident “Catholic” groups came out in support of the Empire State Building’s refusal to honor Mother Teresa, and then took aim at Bill Donohue himself.

A group called Catholics for Choice is praising owner Anthony Malkin for sticking to his long-held policy of refusing lighting requests from religious organizations - and standing up to Bill Donohue and the Catholic League.

“We know it takes courage to do so, especially as he tends to accuse all those who oppose him of being anti-Catholic,” the group wrote in a letter to Malkin.

Calling Donohue “an attack dog for the radical right,” the group said the Catholic League leader doesn’t represent all Catholics, and accused him of manufacturing “a controversy out of nothing.”

I think Grant is correct in pointing out that some of these controversies have reached an embarrassing level of ugliness and in-fighting, the likes of which Mother Teresa would not appreciate.

But these are not the only ways that Catholics are celebrating the modern day saint’s 100th birthday. Tim Drake shares an inspiring round-up of activities and celebrations taking place across the country this week.

Personally, I like Tracy Grant’s positive suggestion, and I think Mother Teresa would approve:

Instead of wasting time trying to decide which group is the holiest of the holy when it comes to deciding how Mother Teresa should be honored, why doesn’t the Catholic League and the progressive signatories of the latest press release (which include Call to Action, Catholics for Choice and the Women’s Ordination Conference) simply decide that they will quietly—that would mean without issuing press releases—make Aug. 26 a day of service. A day when the homeless on the street aren’t passed by but are given a sandwich, a cup of coffee and a few minutes of conversation; a day when those who have outlived family and friends have their hands held and their hair combed; a day when a book is placed into the hand of a child who has never held one before.

Hold the outrage, everyone. This here is an idea I’m not sure any of us should argue with.