Missionary Sisters of Charity during a commemoration in Calcutta in 2018 – Ansa
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In Ahmedabad, the main city in the western Indian state of Gujarat, the Missionaries of Charity have been denounced on charges of conversion to the Christian religion. Here the congregation founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta runs a shelter house that houses young women who, according to the complaint presented to the police by two social workers of the District Committee for Child Protection after an inspection, would be forced to wear necklaces with crucifix, to pray and participate in religious services. Also, however, to consume non-vegetarian food. Accusations rejected by the leaders of the congregation; “We host 24 girls without families, who would otherwise find themselves on the street. They participate in our life, and stay with us while we pray or say mass, but no one is forced to do so or to convert “.
According to the mass media, the nuns have violated the law that prohibits and sanctions the conversion carried out by force, deception or in any way encouraged. In particular, the measure adopted so far in five states of India – Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha (Orissa) – is applied in cases of conversion of Hindu women to Islam aimed at marriage with Muslims, but also sees growing pressure on the Indian Church accused of pursuing numerical growth to the detriment of the Hindu majority, albeit without real evidence. In this, however, it is favored by the presence in the government of many states and also at the federal level of an openly pro-Hindu majority led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supported by very strong extremist movements in various regions of the country and which in turn are soliciting the conversion to Hinduism without fear of sanctions.
Very active in India, with 277 houses where they manage social and charitable activities, it is not the first time that Mother Teresa’s missionaries have been accused of breaking the law. In July 2018, all orphanages and Missionaries of Charity centers hosting mothers with their children were inspected following the accusation of “child trafficking” towards a religious and social worker active in the state of Jharkhand. The following November, the Sisters of Mother Teresa were allowed to resume adoption services, three years after the practice was suspended by the congregation in disagreement with the new official rules on the matter.
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