---------------------------------------------------------- What's On In Goa: * Oct 11: Konkani translation of Satre book, Alliance Francaise * Oct 12: Goa Orchestra performs at the Kala (Corelli, Bach) * Oct 15: Magic in town... Illusion India magic show, Pnj then Vasco * Mid-Oct: 2-day ornithologists workshop, Bondla southernbirdwing.com ----------------------------------------------------------
More on this issue... FN ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Bengal minister wants probe into Mother Teresa miracle By Krittivas Mukherjee, Indo-Asian News Service Kolkata, Oct 9 (IANS) A West Bengal minister has demanded an investigation into a miracle attributed to Mother Teresa that has strengthened her case for sainthood. The Vatican last week recognised as a miracle the reported curing of an abdominal tumour on a tribal woman from West Bengal, saying it paved the way for the founder of the Missionaries of Charity to be beatified, which would take her a step closer to sainthood. But a West Bengal minister and several rationalists in the state are sceptical of the miracle attributed to the Albanian-born nun who made India her home. Kanti Ganguly, the minister in charge of the Sunderbans mangrove forest area, has called for a health department probe. "If the health department thinks there is a case for forgery and cheating, the law should take its course. This is a matter that only the health ministry can deal with," Ganguly told IANS. Rationalists are condemning the talk of a miracle by Mother Teresa, who spent her life serving the poor and the dying across the globe from the Kolkata-based headquarters of her order, the Missionaries of Charity. Even doctors who attended the patient supposedly cured by Mother Teresa's miracle have challenged the church, saying Monica Besra -- a tribal woman from northern West Bengal -- was treated with medication. Former Marxist health minister Partho De too said medicine and not a miracle cured Besra, a mother of two. "She received treatment at the Balurghat hospital and recovered after taking medicines. There should not be any talk of miracle," he said. Mazur Murshed, chief of the hospital, also dismissed claims of a miracle and said Besra was suffering from tubercular meningitis and had developed an ovarian tumour, which was cured with medication. Besra's case is among hundreds of such miracles that Mother Teresa had been credited with performing. A miracle is required along with testimonials to a holy life for a person to be beatified by the church. Upon confirmation of a second miracle, the person can be declared a saint. The process consists of three steps: veneration, beatification and canonisation, or sainthood. A medical miracle, to be accepted by the church, has to be vetted by a doctor as beyond the comprehension of medical science. The Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Saints said last week that the Besra case was one such instance. Rationalists say Mother Teresa was a saint no doubt, but not for her supposed miracles. "She is a saint for her selfless service to mankind. Let that not be smudged by false claims of miracles," Prabir Ghosh, general secretary of the Science and Rationalist Association of India, told IANS. The rationalists' claim has been bolstered by the fact that a Salesian priest, Fr. A.C. Jose, considered an authority on canonisation laws, has said "the whole process of the miracle should be examined again to protect the reputation of the church". He said here Tuesday night that the review should be carried out because the Pope had not yet signed the decree of Mother Teresa's beatification. The church admits that Mother Teresa's cause for sainthood was "extraordinary," and it thus made certain exceptions like allowing the sainthood process to start only about a year after her death. Usually, the process begins five years after the candidate's death. Mother Teresa is the 14th person from India to be considered for sainthood. Earlier, Thomas of Tamil Nadu, Francis Xavier of Goa, John D'Britto of Tamil Nadu and Gonzalo Gracia of Maharashtra had been anointed saints. Five people have been beatified but await sainthood while four had passed the first stage of veneration. Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje, Macedonia, on August 26, 1910. She came to Calcutta, now Kolkata, on January 6, 1929. Her life was transformed after hearing a "call" to serve the ailing humanity while on her way to Darjeeling on September 10, 1946. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1949, a year after which it received the church's approval. Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She died on September 5, 1997, and kings, queens and heads of states attended her funeral here. --Indo-Asian News Service ======================================================================== To view GoaNet's archives http://groups.yahoo.com/group/goa-net ======================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Don't want so many e-mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead!
