India blocks foreign funds for Mother Teresa's charity

NEW DELHI — India’s authorities has blocked Mother Teresa’s foundation from receiving overseas funds, saying the Catholic enactment did not conscionable conditions nether section laws, dealing a stroke to 1 of the astir salient groups moving shelters for the poor.

The Home Ministry said a connection Monday that the Missionaries of Charity’s exertion for renewing a licence that allows it to get funds from overseas was rejected connected Christmas.

The ministry said it came crossed “adverse inputs” portion considering the charity’s renewal application. It did not elaborate.

Its troubles travel successful the aftermath of a drawstring of attacks connected Christians successful immoderate parts of India by Hindu right-wing groups, who impeach pastors and churches of forced conversions. The attacks person particularly been salient successful the confederate authorities of Karnataka, which has seen astir 40 cases of threats oregon unit against Christians this year, according to a study from the Evangelical Fellowship of India.

Earlier connected Monday, the main curate of West Bengal state, Mamata Banerjee, sparked outrage erstwhile she tweeted that the authorities had frozen the slope accounts of the charity. But the authorities soon clarified that it had not frozen immoderate accounts.

The foundation confirmed successful a connection that the authorities had not frozen its accounts but added that its Foreign Contribution Regulation Act renewal exertion had not been approved.

“Therefore ... we person asked our centers not to run immoderate of the (foreign contribution) accounts until the substance is resolved,” it said.

Earlier this month, the Missionaries of Charity, which Mother Teresa started successful Kolkata successful 1950, recovered itself nether probe successful the occidental authorities of Gujarat pursuing complaints that girls successful its shelters were forced to work the Bible and recite Christian prayers. The foundation has denied the allegations.

The foundation runs hundreds of shelters that attraction for immoderate of the world’s neediest radical who Mother Teresa had described arsenic “the poorest of the poor.”

India is location to the 2nd largest Catholic colonisation successful Asia aft the Philippines, but the astir 18 cardinal Catholics correspond a tiny number successful the mostly Hindu federation of astir 1.4 billion. Critics accidental spiritual tensions person grown nether Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, with much predominant attacks against minorities.

Mother Teresa received the Nobel Peace Prize for her enactment successful 1979, and Pope Francis declared her a saint successful 2017, 2 decades aft her death.