Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton reacted to Sunday’s canonization of Mother Teresa, with Trump praising the saint’s “amazing life of charity and holiness” and Clinton recalling her work with the founder of the Missionaries of Charity in opening a home for babies waiting to be adopted.
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Speaking to supporters in Illinois, Clinton said she and Mother Teresa “didn't agree on everything, but we found common ground,” perhaps alluding to the pair’s opposing views on abortion and pointing to the home as evidence of their collaboration. Mother Teresa asked Clinton to open the home for pregnant women who might otherwise be considering abortion.
“And when Mother Teresa asks you to do something, the only answer was, ‘Yes, ma'am,’ ” Clinton joked. She said Mother Teresa followed up repeatedly to check in on the home’s progress. Both were on hand in 1995 to open the home, which closed a few years later.
Trump, meanwhile, released a video before the canonization in which he praised Mother Teresa’s charitable works.
“Mother Teresa gave food to the hungry, shelter to homeless, education to the needy. She represented the best in each of us,” he said. “I’m truly happy to see Catholics across the world join together and celebrate Mother Teresa’s uniquely humble, generous and pious life,” he continued. “There was nobody like her.”
Polls show that Clinton leads by a wide margin with Catholic voters generally, though when it comes to white Catholics, the race is still close.
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Michael O’Loughlin is the national correspondent for America. Follow him on Twitter at @mikeoloughlin.
