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Sunday, October 19, 2003Miracles almost always involve medical cures in part because most of Jesus Christ's miracles were related to healing. At the midpoint of the last century, the Vatican established a medical board, the Consulta Medica, about 100 prestigious Italian doctors who examine the cures. To be considered miraculous, a cure must be instantaneous or sudden, complete and permanent, and without scientific explanation. On average, five Consulta Medica doctors examine a case, and three of the five must agree that the criteria are met. They judge whether the cure is complete and without scientific explanation. And here's an interview with a member of the Consulta Medica. There's some controversy over the nature of Mother Teresa's miracle. The story in the Seattle Times says that a woman was cured of ovarian cancer while lying in a hospice thanks to prayers to the nun. But this report from India makes it sound less dramatic: The reported miracle took place on September 5, 1998, the first anniversary of Mother Teresa's death, when Besra was lying seriously ill in one of the late nun's Missionaries of Charity shelters. During the afternoon, nuns of the order placed a medal on Besra's stomach and prayed with her for several hours. The same medal of the Virgin Mary had been placed on Mother Teresa's body after she died. Besra says that when she woke up early next morning, the tumour had disappeared. She was immediately certain she had experienced a miracle. But a number of respected figures in the Indian medical establishment are certain of the opposite. 'Monika Besra was rid of her tumour with the help of very strong medicines and treatment for several days at Balurghat Hospital,' former West Bengal health minister Partho De said in interviews last October. 'I mean no disrespect to Mother Teresa but it is stretching the truth to say that it was a miracle worked by her,' he added. Doctors at the Balurghat hospital have also been quoted as saying Besra was cured by the strong medicines she was given for a bout of tuberculosis she suffered before the tumour was discovered. It would indeed be miraculous for a woman with ovarian cancer to still be alive five years later without ongoing treatment. Especially if her tumor was never removed surgically. The tumor may not have been caused by cancer, but by tuberculosis: The reports of Besra's illness vary, and she herself claims not to really understand what ailed her. Some doctors say she had a large malignant tumor in her abdomen; others diagnosed tubercular meningitis. She was put on four anti-TB drugs, said Dr. Ranjan Mustafi, the chief gynecologist who treated Besra at Balurghat District Hospital. Unable to care for herself, and too poor to remain at the state hospital, Besra says her family took her to the Missionaries of Charity hospice in Patiram, a town on the outskirts of Balurghat. As it turns out, pelvic tuberculosis mimics ovarian cancer. And it's not so uncommon in the developing world. The miracle looks dubious, but Mother Teresa did do a lot of good work at great personal sacrifice. You can't take that away from her. posted by Sydney on 10/19/2003 08:41:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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