The license of Mother Teresa’s charity, Missionaries of Charity, to receive and spend foreign donations for its works has been restored by the Indian government. This decision comes two weeks after the organization was banned from receiving foreign donations. However, some Christian groups still have their licenses withheld.
According to the Vatican News, the ban on the charity, which was founded by the Albanian-Indian Catholic nun, was lifted by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday. The charity runs orphanages and schools for abandoned children and depends majorly on foreign donations to carry out its works.
Sunita Kumar of Missionaries of Charity told the Union of Catholic Asia News Agency, “We never expected that our registration could be cancelled but it happened. We are happy that the restoration of our license happened without much delay."
The government agency had announced on Christmas Day that Missionaries of Charity no longer met eligibility requirements under the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act because it was discovered that during a review on its renewal application, the charity had “adverse inputs”.
Officials had filed a complaint with the police under the state’s “anti-conversion law,” reporting that the nuns were converting girls “forcefully” into Christianity in one of the homes the charity runs.
However, the allegations were denied by the spokesperson of the charity organization. The spokesperson said, “We have 24 girls in the home. These girls live with us and they follow our practice as they see us doing the same when we pray and live. We have not converted anyone or forced anyone to marry into Christian faith.”
In 1950, the Missionaries of Charity was founded in Calcutta. According to the organization’s website, it runs schools for abandoned children, soup kitchens and other charitable operations. Also, they serve “the poorest of the poor, irrespective of social class, creed or color.”
“We deliberately choose to show God’s concern for the poorest and the lowliest, remaining right on the ground, while offering immediate and effective service to those in need, until they can find someone who can help them in a better and more lasting way,” the website said.
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