Kolkata Mar 23 PTI The new Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity Sister Mary Joseph on Wednesday said that five nuns of the order serving the distressed citizens of Kyiv the capital of war-ravaged Ukraine were given the offer to be evacuated but they declined They are not afraid of their own security as they believe they are serving God by coming to the aid of the people who are suffering Sister Joseph told a press conference For them the priority is to serve the distressed in such a challenging situation Everything else comes later We are in constant touch with them she said The nuns are providing garments food and medicines to local people and their morale is high said the chief of Missionaries of Charity founded by Saint Teresa We are talking to our fellow sisters in Kyiv at least once a day We have faith in God Our shelter in Kyiv has not suffered the brunt of shelling We are in constant touch with the Indian government and Ukraine and Russian governments and various global bodies another nun told PTI To a question Sister Joseph said Missionaries of Charity has 5123 sisters involved in the service for the distressed people all over the world in 758 homes It has 139 branches across the globe PTI SUS NN NN

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 19 (ANI): Amid the Ukraine conflict, Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata said many of its members are serving in the war-torn country in the call of duty.

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], January 10 (ANI): Objecting to the sanction Rs 78.76 lakh from the Chief Minister Relief Fund (CMRF) to support 13 institutions run by Missionaries of Charity in Odisha, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) General Secretary Milind Parande said that CM Naveen Patnaik has no right to give away money of "Hindu taxpayers" to an organisation that "converts".

New Delhi [India], January 8 (ANI): The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has restored the registration of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration after it "submitted necessary documents" needed to avail the Centre's facility.

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], January 5 (ANI): Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has sanctioned Rs 78.76 lakh from the Chief Minister Relief Fund (CMRF) to support 13 institutions run by Missionaries of Charity in the state, according to an official release.

Kolkata Dec 28 PTI Bhola Hossain Mollah from Boral village in South 24 Parganas said whatever be the outcome over the controversy over the Missionaries of Charitys foreign funds being stopped all that he and many others who benefitted from the Mother House wanted was that they Nuns be allowed to do their work The Mother House which Mother Teresa set up in 1953 located on 54A Acharya Jagdish Chandra Road and has become a site for a different kind of pilgrimage for people of different faith who feel the late Mother Teresa also known as the Saint of the Gutters made a difference to this city and the worldThe unassuming Mother House is also a working Mission where the poor are looked after and fed besides being the headquarters of the Missionaries of Charity It also has a small Museum and Mother Teresas tomb attracting devotees from all parts of the worldSaid Mollah I was rescued by the Mothers nuns of this home when I was lying on the footpath with serious foot injury They treated me free and now I get food from them thrice a day as I recuperate The 40-year-old destitute said I dont know about their source of funds and I dont want to All I wish is they should be allowed to do their work Nuns scurried about in their habits busy on their chores The doors of the Mother House is open to all and all our daily activities are continuing It will with the support of you all an elderly Sister told PTI blessing him but refusing to say anything elseThe lane adjacent to the white building with blue streaks in the colours of the sari which most Nuns wear seemed quiet and forlorn with a handful visitorsMichael leader of a ten member group of visitors from Mumbai including children seemed unaware about the controversy over Government refusing to renew a license granted under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act FCRA which allowed the Mission to access donations from abroad said he did not see anything unusual at the Mother HouseWe prayed inside we were blessed by the nuns present we offered tribute to the tomb but the situation was the same as three years back when I had visited the place first It is serene quiet and very divine he saidA woman member of the group said we believe the Missionaries of Charity cannot do anything wrong They are serving the poor the people They should be allowed to do their work If there are any problems with foreign funding that should be addressed for the benefit of poor The Ministry of Home Affairs had on Monday said the Missionaries of Charitys application for renewal of the FCRA registration was refused on December 25 for not meeting eligibility conditions as some adverse inputs were received PTI SUS JRC JRC

Kolkata Dec 28 PTI A day after a controversy broke out over the Central government refusing to renew the Missionaries of Charitys license to accept foreign donations top officials of the organisation said work in its orphanages hospices and shelters for the poor were going on as usual Officials from the Mission founded by Mother Teresa here in 1950 said that talks were on with auditors and experts to try and resolve the situation indicating an appeal against the Centres decision to cancel the license under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act would be madeWork in all our orphanages shelters homes are going on as usual the official said adding that in India we have been sustaining all these years with love and support of people in this country So we will continue to serve the poor destitute ailing aged with the same gusto in the same way A large portion of the money spent in India comes from donations sourced locally officials said while pleading ignorance of the exact amounts received as donation locally or through foreign donationsThe MoC headquartered in Kolkata has over 250 bank accounts in the country for utilising foreign funds another official of the organisation saidWe are in talks with experts and auditors to resolve the situation the official saidMHA said in a statement on Monday that renewal of the FCRA license was refused on December 25 Christmas day for not meeting eligibility conditions indicating that there issues with its audit report The Ministry also said no request has been received from Missionaries of Charity for review of this refusal of renewal The cancellation order came within weeks after a police complaint was registered against the director of a childrens home run by the Missionaries of Charity in Gujarat for allegedly attempting to convert inmatesThe late Mother Teresa who was who was canonised a Saint in September 2016 and the Missionaries of Charity which she founded shot into prominence after she won the Ramon Magsasay Peace Prize in 1962 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979The organisation today is spread over 139 countries and runs orphanages homes for the dying and lepers besides looking after refugees blind disabled aged alcoholics poor and homeless and victims of floods epidemics and famine PTI SUS JRC JRC

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], December 28 (ANI): West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Sukanta Majumdar on Monday slammed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee fuelling a controversy over bank accounts of Missionaries of Charity being frozen.

Kolkata Dec 27 PTI Saint Teresa of Calcutta then known as Mother Teresa started the Missionaries of Charity which hit the headlines on Monday after revelations that renewal of a mandatory registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act has been refused by the Government with just about 10 members in October 1950 The Mother and her organisation which ran orphanages homes for the dying and lepers shot into prominence after she won the Ramon Magsasay Peace Prize in 1962 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 This year it completed 71 years of work in India Mother Teresas work which hit news headlines and won international recognition was funded by foreign and Indian donors However the non-renewal of FCRA registration means that the donations the Missionaries used to receive from abroad to carry on its charitable work will not be permitted to be transferred The organisation today is spread over 139 countries and now looks after refugees the blind disabled aged alcoholics the poor and homeless besides victims of floods epidemics and famine St Teresa who was canonised in September 2016 was born Agnes Gonxja Bojaxihu in Skopje Albania in 1910 and arrived in India in 1929 where she first joined with sisters of Loreto and took her first vow as nun in 1931 and came to be known as Teresa While teaching in school she was struck by the stark poverty all around and in 1948 received permission to leave the convent and serve the poor With little or no funds she started an open air school for children and was joined by volunteers The Holy See permitted her to start her own order the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 In 1965 it became an international religious congregation by the decree of the Pope After Mother Teresas death in 1997 the stewardship of Missionaries of Charity passed on to Sister Nirmala who has now been succeeded by Sister M Prema MC Earlier this month an FIR was registered against the director of a childrens home run by the Missionaries of Charity in Gujarat for allegedly attempting to convert inmates PTI SUS JRC JRC

New Delhi Dec 27 PTI The Mother Teresa-founded Missionaries of Charitys application for renewal of a licence to receive foreign contributions was turned down by the Union Home Ministry on Christmas Day citing some adverse inputs Announcing the decision in a statement on Monday the Ministry of Home Affairs MHA made it clear that it did not freeze any account of the Missionaries of Charity but was informed by State Bank of India that the organisation itself had sent a request to the bank to freeze its accounts The decision of not renewing the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act FCRA registration of the organisation that was founded by Nobel laureate Mother Teresa to help the poor and the destitute in 1950 led to a political slugfest between the opposition and the ruling BJP with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Congress leaders terming the move shocking and disgusting The Missionaries of Charity issued a brief statement in Kolkata saying it had asked its centres not to operate any foreign currency account till the issue of renewal of the organisations FCRA registration was resolved The statement signed by Sister M Prema Superior General of the body did not clarify whether it had asked SBI to freeze its accounts as stated by the Home Ministry We would like to clarify that the FCRA registration of the Missionaries of Charity has been neither suspended nor cancelled There is no freeze order by the MHA on any of our bank accounts We have been informed that our FCRA renewal has not been approved As a measure to ensure there is no lapse we have asked our centres not to operate any of the FC accounts until the matter is resolved the statement said The Home Ministry said the application for the renewal of the FCRA registration of the organisation was refused on December 25 for not meeting the eligibility conditions under the FCRA and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Rules FCRR 2011 No request or revision application has been received from Missionaries of Charity for review of this refusal of renewal the statement said The registration under the FCRA was valid up to October 31 2021 which was subsequently extended up to December 31 2021 along with other FCRA associations whose renewal applications were pending renewal However while considering the Missionaries of Charitys renewal application some adverse inputs were noticed In consideration of these inputs on record the renewal application of the organisation was not approved it said Slamming the move Banerjee was the first to come out in support of the Missionaries of Charity MoC claiming that the Centres move had left 22000 patients and employees of the organisation without food and medicines Shocked to hear that on Christmas Union Ministry FROZE ALL BANK ACCOUNTS of Mother Teresas Missionaries of Charity in India Their 22000 patients and employees have been left without food and medicines While the law is paramount humanitarian efforts must not be compromised Banerjee tweeted As the government clarified that it had not approved the MoCs renewal application for adverse inputs the ruling BJP hit out at Banerjee for being poorly informed Poorly informed Mamata Banerjee gets it wrong like always This is what happens when you have an eye on Goa polls and religious polarisation and not governance is the only calling card TMCs Bengal model of appeasement has limited appeal wont work in rest of India Amit Malviya BJPs co-incharge of West Bengal said in a tweet He also shared a statement on Twitter issued by the Missionaries of Charity clarifying that the Home Ministry had not ordered freezing of its accounts Missionaries of Charity issues a statement and it is exactly what the Ministry of Home Affairs has said If the two are on the same page then whose propaganda is Mamata Banerjee peddling Or is it a deliberate devious attempt to spread misinformation Malviya asked in another tweet Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Anand Sharma expressed shock at the Centres action This is indeed shocking When Mother Teresa wins a Nobel Prize India rejoices When her organisation serves the poor and destitute the government cuts off their funding Disgraceful Tharoor wrote on Twitter Sharma demanded the prime ministers intervention in the matter and an immediate reversal of the decision Shocked at the Governments action of freezing the accounts of Missionaries of Charity Condemning the cruel insensitive and inhuman decision which will hurt the ailing and suffering poor the most he tweeted Rajya Sabha MP of the Trinamool Congress Derek OBrien accused the Centre of carrying out a hit job on the Kolkata-headquartered Missionaries of Charity and resorting to spin doctoring and a cover-up He also accused the Centre of intimidating the organisation and piling pressure to extract a statement from it on the issue PTI ACB SKU SUS RBT JRC SKL SMN