Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity orphanages to be derecognised?

The central government is mulling derecognising 13 orphanages run by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity due to its non-compliance with adoption guidelines.

The secretary of India’s central adoption agency, Veerendra Mishra, told The Indian Express newspaper that there were two points of dispute: “First, [Missionaries of Charity] will not allow adoption by single parents; second, they also have issues with couples, one or both of whom has had a divorce earlier”. The child development minister Maneka Gandhi hinted that the government would be forced to de-recognize the charity’s adoption centers if it failed to conform to the new rules. “It is a pity that they have taken this stand. We will try and convince them to understand the modern context where being divorced or separated does not mean you are a bad person or a bad caregiver”, a senior official said.

It all started when the Central Adoption Resource Authority received complaints from two single parents from Assam and Bihar.

The failure of Missionaries of Charity to adhere to new adoption norms has now raised a question mark over the future of several orphans that live in orphanages run by the organisation, according to reports.

“We have revised the guidelines of CARA but there were very few adoption agencies in every state”. “Adoptions can only happen through a registered childrens’ home”.

“The new guidelines hurt our conscience”.

Speaking to AsiaNews, Card. I support the sister missionaries.

Under the name Nirmala Shishu Bhawan, the Missionaries’ network of homes provides shelter, food, medical care and schooling to abandoned and destitute children, including those with special needs across India.

The congregation has always dealt with the moral and material assistance to the poor, sick and abandoned children, prostitutes, handicapped. 13 of them were authorised by the government to run adoption centres. It said, “Complying with all the provisions would have been hard for the organisation”. Card. Toppo adds: “The Missionaries of Mother Teresa have a rooted maternal responsibility towards children”. Their consciousness suggests that it is wrong to follow the rules of the government. Children are not goods. This has to be also discussed at the Family Synod, for the Mission of the Church and Family in India.