[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 118 (Tuesday, September 9, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1698]]
                       STATEMENT ON MOTHER TERESA

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                          HON. KAREN McCARTHY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 9, 1997

  Ms. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the life 
and the contributions of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a woman devoted to 
helping the poorest of the poor find solace. Although her presence will 
be missed, her legacy of charity continues to inspire the entire world.
  I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to participate in the 
presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal to Mother Teresa for her 
outstanding and enduring record of humanitarianism. She challenged all 
Members of Congress to extend our hearts and our resources to those in 
need. As a Nobel Laureate, Mother Teresa unselfishly created the 
Missionaries of Charity, a religious order that operates 517 missions 
in over 100 different countries. She led 4,000 Sisters in seeking out 
the poor, the abandoned, the sick and the destitute. Malcomb Mudderidge 
wrote of Mother Teresa, in his book ``Something Beautiful for God,'' 
that she could ``hear in the cry of every abandoned child the cry of 
the Bethlehem child; recognize in every leper's stumps the hands which 
once touched sightless eyes and made them see.'' She said she saw God 
in the eyes of those who suffered. She created hospices for the dying, 
and places of rest for the tired. She reached out and elevated the 
awareness of millions to the realities of those less fortunate.
  While we mourn the loss of a great humanitarian, we must ensure that 
her giving and loving spirit lives on in each of us. Mother Teresa once 
said, ``the poverty in the West is not only a poverty of loneliness, 
but also of spirituality. There's a hunger for love, as there is a 
hunger for God.'' As servants and representatives of the public, we 
have an obligation to make Government and Congress a benevolent and 
merciful institution dedicated to meeting the needs of all its 
citizens. Mr. Speaker, I join in honoring Mother Teresa for all that 
she accomplished and for her lasting impact on our world.

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