Irish archbishop horrified by confirmation of unmarked babies’ graves
March 06, 2017
Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam, Ireland has said that he was “horrified and saddened” by a commission report that confirmed about 800 babies had been buried in unmarked graves near a home for unwed mothers in Tuam.
The remains of babies had been discovered in 2014, prompting an official investigation into the history of the Tuam Mother and Baby Home. The investigators confirmed that as many as 800 babies had been buried there between 1925 and 1961, without ceremony or official death certificates—apparently because of a shortage of funds at the institution, which was run by nuns but operating under the government’s supervision.
Archbishop Neary said that the Tuam archdiocese, which was not directly involved in the operation of the home, has no information about the babies’ burials, but has cooperated fully with the investigating commission, handing over the few available archdiocesan records that might have been relevant.
In his homily at Mass on the first Sunday of Lent, the archbishop said that the pain of the babies’ mothers is “beyond our capacity to understand.” He said that he would seek a proper burial of the remains that have been discovered.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
Further information:
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
-
Posted by: bernie4871 -
Mar. 07, 2017 3:00 PM ET USA
Wish I could understand what this is all about. We seem to be confronted with unmarried women having babies in a Home where the customs and mentality of the time confined many who were isolated or unable to care for themselves. Some babies were adopted and some babies apparently died in the quasi normal course of events and they were buried on the grounds of the home. I must be obtuse. What is the horror? Surely, no one is alleging they were murdered.
