NEW DELHI (CNS) -- Facing child trafficking allegations at one of its homes for unmarried mothers in India, the Missionaries of Charity said the order condemns the actions of individuals involved and stressed that these are unrelated to the order.
A baby born in Nirmal Hriday (Tender Heart) home in the eastern Indian city of Ranchi was not handed over to state adoption authorities after the mother had declared her intention to do so, Sister Mary Prema Pierick, superior general of the Missionaries of Charity, said in a July 17 statement from Kolkata.
"We are fully cooperating with the investigations and are open to any free, fair and just inquiry," Sister Prema said, noting that "false news" "and "baseless innuendos" are being spread.
"While we place our full trust in the judicial process that is underway, we wish to express regret and sorrow for what happened," she said.
The order condemns "in unequivocal terms" the individual actions "which have nothing to do with the Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity," she said.
Police maintained that Jharkhand state's Child Welfare Committee came to suspect the home was involved in the illegal trading of children after a couple complained they were not given a child, despite paying 120,000 rupees (US$1,850) as an adoption fee.
Sister Concelia, whose duties as sister in charge of the home in Jharkhand state included accompanying mothers and babies to the welfare committee, which handles adoptions, was assisted by Anima Indwar, Sister Prema said.
Indwar had been employed by the home, which is part of the mission for children and unwed mothers of the order founded by St. Teresa of Kolkata in 1950, since 2012 and had come "to enjoy the trust of the sisters," she said.
Sister Prema's statement said Karishma Toppo, who had been in the home for about six weeks before her baby was born May 1, had declared in the home's register her intention to "surrender her child" to the welfare committee.
While Indwar, Toppo and her guardian took the baby from the home to do this, neither the home nor the sisters "had any way to ascertain whether the child was actually surrendered" to the welfare services, she said.
When she admitted to the welfare committee early July that the baby had not been given to them, Indwar was handed over to police, Sister Prema said.
Sister Concelia was arrested and her superior, Sister Marie Deanne, was questioned and held in police custody overnight, she said.
The following day, the home's 11 mothers, a baby and a guardian were removed from the home by the welfare services, Sister Prema said.
The women "were subjected to utmost humiliation and public embarrassment by the officials as they were carried in full view of the media," she said.
Another Missionaries of Charity home in Hinoo was raided by police soon afterward, with its 22 children, including a one-month-old baby, "carried away" by authorities, Sister Prema said.
"It is distressing that" the welfare committee "meted out such treatment to a home which," weeks before, officials had "described as having an 'excellent environment for the care of children,'" she said.
The Missionaries of Charity DO have an excellent reputation for the care of children. There is much more to this than meets the eye. There always has been this tension between Church and state, with the state constantly competing and trying to remove authority from religious institutions, especially regarding family life. We see attacks on religious freedom in our own country, too. Historically, it has ALWAYS been this way.
We regularly contribute to the Missionaries of Charity in India. This year, the Indian laws have been changed, making it MUCH more difficult to donate. They say they are concerned about foreign funds being used to influence their government policy. We need to make some very inconvenient, special arrangements with our bank in order to donate. Our donations are very small--much too small to influence any government officials! Surely this law will discourage donations to such a worthy cause.
I believe that the sisters are innocent, and this is just another attempt at "soft" persecution. Notice that the sisters actually had no way to determine if the baby was brought to the correct agency, as the baby was not transported directly by the sisters. (Why not? Why the "middle-man" employee? Is that a new legal requirement?) If so, it's just making things more difficult for the people they're trying to help.
Read about the life of Saint Mother Teresa. You'll see so many difficulties with the government authorities. But, this too, will be eventually used by God for good.
Let's pray for everyone involved!
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