Bangladesh: Religions Laud Mother Teresa’s Work

Inter-faith celebrations and dialogue programs that paid tribute to St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta were held in northeastern Bangladesh on Oct.1.

About 1,000 people including religious leaders and followers of four major religions attended the program at the Academy of Performing Arts in Sylhet.

“Mother Teresa’s life of selfless service and her love for humanity is an example of peaceful living for all of humanity,” said Bishop Bejoy N. D’Cruze of Sylhet, which organized the event. Mother Teresa was declared a saint Sept. 4 at the Vatican.

Sreemot Songhananda Thero, principal of a Buddhist monastery in Sylhet, noted that Mother Teresa’s life, works, and teachings could be a catalyst for “solidarity among all religions.”

Swami Chandranathananda Moharaj, principal of the Sylhet branch of Ramakrishna Mission, a Hindu religious organization, said the world needs morals and ideals like that those extolled by Mother Teresa.

“Mankind now faces terrible problems that result from selfishness and shallowness,” he said.

“We can overcome them only if we have strong love for all people and work for peace like Mother Teresa.”

The event included multimedia presentations and discussions on the life and works of Mother Teresa who established the Missionaries of Charity congregation to serve the “poorest of the poor.”

Missionaries of Charity started their mission in Bangladesh in December 1971, days after the country gained independence from Pakistan via a bloody nine-month war.

Currently, 95 Missionaries of Charity nuns and brothers serve in 13 centers across eight Catholic dioceses in Bangladesh where they take care of hundreds of orphans, disabled and destitute people in the impoverished Muslim-majority country.