But do you think she has the right, as head of a religious order, to set standards for her private organization based on her beliefs and expect others who want to take advantage of the services she offers to, to put it baldly, do it my way or hit the highway?
Unfortunately, the question gets more complicated than this: there is a question of how much choice these dying children had when millions of them were dragged off the street (by people with various motives), and placed with the Sisters. One must presume that the capacity for either choice or consent could not fairly be said to exist in at least many of these cases--if not most.
I think it must also be kept in mind that millions of these children were born to suffer and die in agony as a direct result of MT using her considerable power in the service of policies that encouraged millions of people living in squalor, poverty, and disease--to bring these poor children into the world to live and die in the most brutal conditions--far worse than animals who have some capacity to fend.
Was there a more compassionate way for her to use her power? Well, it is an idea that at least merits consideration. God knows that the tentacles of Catholicism reach into every corner of the world, such that one cannot pretend that she does not have the most able, the most powerful, and perhaps the most self serving apologists that one could ever hope for.
Writing and producing a documentary requires a great deal of research. It also opens oneself up to powerful criticism that (if accurate) might be career ending. Considering the power of many of MT's supporters, I find that the paucity of criticism against Hitchkin's suggests his facts may have been quite accurate (see Susan Shields). Interpreting the facts is sometimes a divisive matter...
I think there is enough verified evidence to at least partly condemn the decisions made by MT. As far as proving every one of Hitchkin's points to the satisfaction of anyone with a Catholic or Christian bias--that would be a tall order. I could probably hunt down some good articles, but as I do not intend to spend my life proselytizing either for or aginst MT, I will avoid investing my time in such a manner.
I think the books will come... |
