ZCZC
BFF-34
INDIA-CHILDREN-TERESA-ADOPTION-TRAFFICKING-CRIME
Mother Teresa charity shocked after India babies ‘sold’
NEW DELHI, July 6, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – An Indian charity founded by Mother
Teresa expressed outrage and regret Friday after a nun and an employee were
arrested for allegedly selling infants for adoption for potentially thousands
of dollars.
“We are completely shocked by what has happened in our home in Ranchi (in
eastern India). It should have never happened,” said the Missionaries of
Charity organisation, set up by the Catholic missionary nun in 1950.
“It is against our moral convictions. We are carefully looking into the
matter. We will take all the necessary precautions that this kind of incident
never happens again,” a statement said.
Police arrested the two suspects at one of the charity’s homes in the
capital of Jharkhand state on Thursday following allegations that at least
five infants were sold.
The scandal blew up earlier this week after local child welfare
authorities informed police about a newborn missing from the home, which is
meant to care for unwed pregnant women and mothers in distress.
The staff said initially that the baby was taken by her unwed mother but
then police found evidence that the two suspects sold the child to a couple
from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh state for nearly $1,700.
The pair were initially charged with human trafficking — punishable by up
to five years in prison — but police said they could face more charges as
investigations widen.
The hospitals where the children were delivered will also be investigated,
police said.
For many couples India’s legal adoptions process is cumbersome and some
resort to illegal methods, including by paying bribes to charities or
hospitals.
Born in Skopje, now the capital of Macedonia, Mother Teresa, canonised as
a saint after her death in 1997, became a global symbol of compassion but she
was also a controversial and divisive figure.
She remained fervently opposed to birth control and abortion, describing
the latter as “direct murder by the mother herself” in her speech accepting
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
She was buried in Kolkata in eastern India where she lived most of her
life and where the Missionaries of Charity is headquartered. It has dozens of
homes and care centres in India and across the globe.
BSS/AFP/RY/14:40 hrs