NEW DELHI: A Catholic charity founded by Mother Teresa said that it will carry on with its “service to humanity” after the Indian government blocked it from receiving foreign funds.
The Home Ministry decided on Christmas Day to “refuse” the Missionaries of Charity’s application to renew a license that allows it to receive funds from abroad. In a statement issued on Monday, the ministry said that the organization did not meet eligibility conditions under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, following the discovery of “adverse inputs.”
Sunita Kumar, MoC spokesperson and longtime associate of Mother Teresa, told Arab News: “I have not known something like this ever since I have taken over as spokesperson. I have not heard of this.”
Based in the Indian city of Kolkata, MoC is considered one of the most prominent groups running shelters for the poor. The charity was founded in 1950 by Mother Teresa, a Roman Catholic nun who died in 1997 and was posthumously declared a saint by the Vatican in 2016. MoC has more than 3,000 nuns worldwide who run hospices, clinics and schools, while also taking care of abandoned children and leprosy patients.
In a statement on Monday, MoC confirmed that its renewal application had been denied, adding that it would suspend its foreign funding accounts “until the matter is resolved.”
However, Kumar said that the organization is “not worried about money.”
She added: “Our service to humanity will continue.”
The rejection of the application came amid reports of rising intolerance towards Christians in India, including right-wing Hindu groups disrupting Christmas mass in parts of the country. The wave of anti-Christian violence reportedly took place mostly in states run by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Karnataka.
The latest development drew sharp criticism on social media, with senior opposition leader P. Chidambaram referring to the rejection as “shocking.”
“This is the greatest insult to the memory of Mother Teresa, who devoted her life to care for the ‘poor and wretched’ of India,” the former finance minister tweeted on Tuesday.
The BJP has yet to provide a comment on the matter. The party’s spokesperson, Sudesh Verma, did not immediately respond to queries sent by Arab News.