AN UNHAPPY VISIT
In 1988, Mother Teresa traveled to London to visit with Prime Minis-
ter Margaret Thatcher. She also visited Cardboard City, the site of the
city’s homeless. She asked Thatcher for help in setting up a hostel for
them, but Thatcher pointed out that there were voluntary organizations
in the city that specifically worked with the homeless, and there was no
need for Mother Teresa’s help.
There were other problems as well. Mother Teresa’s trip coincided with
a hearing in Parliament for a bill that would reduce the time limit for al-
lowing abortions from the current 28 weeks to 18 weeks. Mother Teresa
again went to Thatcher asking her to support the bill. Again she was re-
fused. At a conference in Oxford, Mother Teresa told the audience that
couples who used contraception other than the rhythm method, as al-
lowed by the Catholic Church, would not be accepted as potential adop-
tive parents for any children coming from the Missionaries of Charity
homes.
Shortly afterward, Mother Teresa met with Robert Maxwell, the Aus-
tralian owner of the London newspaper the Daily Mirror.Maxwell, al-
ready known for his dubious business dealings, offered to help raise money
for a new Missionaries of Charity home in London. Maxwell loved the
publicity, and Mother Teresa, either in the dark about Maxwell’s personal
business dealings or refusing to acknowledge them, accepted his offer. It
also allowed her a chance to do something without going through gov-
ernment channels. In all, £169,000 (appx. $302,000) was raised and de-
posited in an account held by Maxwell and the paper. In addition,
another £90,000 (appx. $160,000) was raised by the readers of a Scottish
paper to be used for Mother Teresa’s efforts. With the funds, she hoped to
set up two facilities for the homeless in London.
But Mother Teresa never saw the money. Some speculated that
Maxwell had appropriated the funds. A spokesman for the Daily Mirror
later charged that Mother Teresa never seemed to find an appropriate
home or piece of land to suit her purposes. He further denied that any of
the money was missing. There was also the stigma attached of having ac-
cepted the money in the first place from a man who was a known swindler
and unsavory businessman. If Mother Teresa had any regrets about any of
her actions, her association with Maxwell was one. Finally, though, in
1993, a 35-room hostel was opened in London for the Missionaries of
Charity. Mother Teresa came for the opening ceremony and once again
thanked readers of the Daily Mirrorfor their generosity. Mother Teresa
BLESSINGS AND BLAME 121