Christopher Hitchens was a vocal critic of Mother Teresa, famously calling her a "fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud",
Executive summary
Christopher Hitchens publicly and repeatedly condemned Mother Teresa as “a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud,” a line he used in essays, broadcasts and later in his book and documentary critiques [1] [2]. His main charges were that she prioritized religious conversion over modern medical care, allied with corrupt leaders for funds, and opposed contraception and abortion in ways he argued harmed the poor [2] [3] [4].
1. The claim and where it came from
Hitchens’s blunt epithet — “a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud” — is documented in his 2003 Slate essay republished from his earlier writing and in his longer treatments, including the book The Missionary Position and the documentary Hell’s Angel [1] [2] [5]. He repeated the charge in interviews and appearances, and he also testified to church tribunals during Mother Teresa’s cause for sainthood [2] [6].
2. What Hitchens argued she did — the core accusations
Hitchens said Mother Teresa exalted poverty rather than alleviating it, accepted donations from dubious or authoritarian sources, and campaigned against abortion and contraception in ways that, he argued, perpetuated suffering among the poor [2] [3] [5]. He asserted that her stated motive was to expand the Catholic Church rather than to provide modern social or medical relief, and he accused her organization of withholding adequate pain relief in some institutions [6] [7].
3. Evidence Hitchens relied on
His critique drew on his own visits, contemporaneous reporting such as Malcolm Muggeridge’s hagiographic film that Hitchens believed created an uncritical cult of personality, and examples of the Order’s positions on abortion and contraception articulated in public speeches and Nobel-related remarks [3] [5] [1]. Hitchens packed these themes into The Missionary Position and the Hell’s Angel documentary, seeking to show an institutional pattern rather than isolated incidents [2] [5].
4. How critics and defenders responded
Supporters of Mother Teresa, including Catholic commentators like William Donohue and institutions close to her work, accused Hitchens of bias, sloppy scholarship and ideological hostility to religion; Donohue described Hitchens’s treatment as a “vehement distaste” and called his work opinionated and insufficiently documented [2] [8]. Other writers and researchers have revisited Hitchens’s claims and some academic studies have found resonances with his criticisms, while many defenders stress her lifelong service and different interpretive frameworks for her mission [9] [8].
5. Institutional follow-up and Vatican review
During the beatification and canonization processes the Vatican reviewed published and unpublished criticisms, and Hitchens was among those whose allegations were examined by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints — the Vatican officials say such allegations were investigated as part of the cause [6]. Available sources do not mention the Vatican adopting Hitchens’s conclusions; rather, his testimony was one element the Vatican considered [6].
6. Broader context: ideology, media, and image construction
Hitchens framed his attack as part of a wider critique of how modern media manufactures moral celebrities and how religious campaigns can be used by political and financial elites for image-building. Several commentators and a later academic study referenced in commentary argued that her media image was constructed and that Hitchens’s polemic catalysed further scrutiny [9] [2].
7. What his critics say about motivation and methods
Detractors argue Hitchens was motivated by anti-religious ideology and personal animus; they say his tone and some sourcing were polemical rather than forensic, accusing him of selective evidence and rhetorical excess [8] [10]. Hitchens and his defenders responded that questioning sanctified figures is necessary and that the popular narrative around Mother Teresa deserved rigorous scrutiny [11] [2].
8. Bottom line for readers
Hitchens’s phrase is factual: he called Mother Teresa “a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud,” and he built a case around religious motives, alliances with dubious power-holders, and clinical standards of care [1] [2] [3]. Sources show contested interpretation: some later studies and commentators find aspects of his critique persuasive, while many defenders reject his conclusions as ideologically driven or insufficiently evidenced [9] [8]. Readers must weigh a sharp polemic against counterclaims of bias and consider that the Vatican formally reviewed, but did not endorse, Hitchens’s indictment during the sainthood process [6].
Limitations: this account is limited to the supplied reporting and summaries; it does not evaluate primary archival medical records or the full Vatican dossiers, which are not provided here (not found in current reporting).