never changed his assessment of Mother Teresa. To him, she was a hard
and extremely ruthless woman.^8
Another vocal critic of Mother Teresa was a British doctor of ophthal-
mology, Major E. John Somerset, who was affiliated with the Calcutta
Medical College Hospital from 1939 to 1961. During the early 1950s,
when Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity were first becoming
known, Dr. Somerset was donating his time to five or six charitable homes
for the aged and sick in Calcutta. He soon began getting regular visits
from Mother Teresa, who would bring him patients she had found in need
of treatment. Many of the cases Somerset treated were children who suf-
fered from severe vitamin A deficiency to such a degree that their corneas
were melting away. Although Somerset promised Mother Teresa that he
would see as many cases as he could, he asked that she let him know be-
forehand and not come when he was seeing his regular patients. But to
Somerset’s dismay, Mother Teresa ignored his request and continued to
bring patients to him without an appointment. He came to regard her as
a nuisance and a bother.
Another volunteer, Sue Ryder, who had worked as a nurse during
World War II, also had her problems with Mother Teresa. When Ryder
came to India with her husband, she occasionally visited the slums with
Mother Teresa. She approached Mother Teresa about merging the Mis-
sionaries of Charities ventures with her own charitable foundation, but
was rebuffed. The two women had other problems with each other. Ryder
strongly suggested that the night staff at Nirmal Hriday be increased, as it
was often overnight that patients needed the most comfort and care.
However, Mother Teresa refused to consider a change in schedules: her
sisters were to return to the convent at night to say their prayers. The
matter was closed.
THE BRITISH, COLONIAL GUILT, AND MOTHER
TERESA
Complaints about Mother Teresa did little to dampen the tremendous
goodwill many felt toward her and her congregation. This was particularly
true in the English Catholic community of Calcutta. Many women vol-
unteered to help raise funds or provide toys, food, and clothing, especially
for the children. One volunteer, an Englishwoman named Ann Blaikie,
coordinated volunteer efforts and on occasion spoke to civic organizations
and other groups about the Missionaries of Charity.
As Anne Sebba, one of Mother Teresa’s biographers, noted, the atti-
tude of the English, especially English women, was very important in
KALIGHAT 75