After reports emerged that the Central Government froze the accounts of the Missionaries of Charity founded by Mother Teresa, the organisation has clarified that it is not so. They have further clarified that its renewal under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act has not been approved by the government.

“We have been informed that our FCRA renewal application has not been approved. Therefore, as a measure to ensure that there is no lapse, we have asked our centres not to operate any of the FC accounts until the matter is resolved,” said a statement signed by Sister M. Prema M.C.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday had expressed shock at reports that bank accounts of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in India were frozen on 25th December - Christmas Day.

In a statement, the MHA said, “The renewal application under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) for the renewal of FCRA registration of Missionaries of Charity (MoC) was refused on 25 Dec 2021 for not meeting the eligibility conditions under FCRA 2010 and Foreign Contribution Regulation Rules (FCRR) 2011.”

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 was introduced in Lok Sabha on September 20, 2020. The Bill amends the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. The Act regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution by individuals, associations and companies.

The Missionaries of Charity (Congregatio Missionariarum a Caritate) is a Catholic religious congregation established in 1950 by Mother Teresa, known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta. The community is totally dedicated to the service of the poorest of the poor, irrespective of social class, creed or colour. As stated in the M.C. Constitutions “Missionaries of Charity do not “impose their Catholic Faith on anyone but have profound respect for all religions.”