[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 89 (Monday, June 23, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1297-E1298]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    MOTHER TERESA AND THE GOLD MEDAL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB SCHAFFER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 23, 1997

  Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
acknowledge the profound effect a recent event had on me. As a Roman 
Catholic serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, my heart swelled 
with pride when Congress awarded Mother Teresa the Congressional Gold 
Medal.
  The rare ceremony took place in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on 
June 5. Without question, it was one of the most powerful events I have 
ever witnessed.
  Of course, one did not have to be Christian to take inspiration of 
the moment. Believers of many faiths crowded the space to see Mother 
Teresa, and to be moved by her prayer for the ``poorest of the poor.''
  The Gold Medal is no ordinary recognition. It is the highest honor 
bestowed by Congress, approved by bill on behalf of the people of the 
United States.
  Leaders of both chambers and parties were on hand as Representative 
Henry Hyde described the one he called a living saint. ``You believe 
that every human being, no matter how abandoned, no matter how poor, no 
matter how `useless' or `inconvenient,' * * * is an image of the 
invisible God, is invested with an innate and inalienable dignity and 
value, and thus commands our attention, our respect, and our care, and 
you have poured out your life in the service to that belief.''
  Indeed, she has. The ministry she founded, the Missionaries of 
Charity, extends to 120 countries with 568 houses dedicated to the 
unwanted, the unclothed, and the unfed. In Calcutta alone she and her 
sisters have provided for the successful adoption of 8,000 children. Of 
the hundreds of Congressmen and Senators assembled before her, she 
asked only our prayers for her and her ministry.
  ``The more we help the poor, the more we honor God,'' she told us. 
She thanked America for the parents who have given the ``gift of 
daughters and sons to do the work of missionaries, to serve the poor, 
to serve Jesus.''
  Instantly, my mind took me back to February 4, 1994. Mother Teresa 
was the keynote speaker at the annual National Prayer Breakfast. At my 
table were legislators from five other States and ambassadors from four 
foreign countries. Flanked by President Clinton and Vice President 
Gore, she delivered a speech that rocked Washington.
  Amid her discussion of charity and the church's special preference 
for the poor, she quickly turned the topic, ``But, I feel that the 
greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war 
against the child.'' A grenade of truth tossed into a room full of 
politicians, her remarks caused 3,000 of us to squirm in unison. I 
remember it as yesterday.
  Then, she returned us to ease with the simplicity of her response. 
``Each child is created in the special image and likeness of God for 
greater things--to love and to be loved,'' she said. ``I will tell you 
something beautiful. We are fighting abortion with adoption.''
  ``Please don't kill the child,'' she begged. ``I want the child. 
Please give me the child. I am willing to accept any child who would be 
aborted, and to give that child to a married couple who will love the 
child and be loved by the child.'' True to her word, her Sisters of 
Charity have yet to refuse a child, anywhere.
  Mother Teresa is a profile in contradiction; a light in the darkness, 
strength among the weak, courage among fear. Standing at the seat of 
democracy, in the strongest nation of the world, the terms of secular 
power--military, economic, and bureaucratic--became tiny by her 
greatness.

[[Page E1298]]

  Clearly endowed by God, the power of Mother Teresa's heart transcends 
the power of the world.

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