The Irish state and the Catholic Church of Ireland have apologized for running and setting up a network of religious institutions that have abused and shamed unmarried mothers and their children for much of the 20th century.
The taiseeach, Micheál Martin, on Wednesday led the government figures by accepting responsibility and expressing remorse over mother-and-baby homes that have turned generations of vulnerable women and babies into outcasts.
Eamon Martin, the Catholic primate of all of Ireland, led statements by bishops and nuns apologizing for the central role of the church in a dark chapter of Irish history.
The apologies followed Tuesday’s publication of a long-awaited report by a judicial commission of inquiry that documented severe abuse, neglect and discomfort in institutions that serve as a dumping ground for unmarried mothers and their children.
Some survivors and opposition politicians said the report did not go far enough to punish the state and the church, calling for seizures of church assets unless the institution contributes to a state-run redress scheme.
The taoiseach told the Dáil he accepts that the state bears a lot of responsibility.
‘For the women and children who have been treated so cruelly, we must do what we can to show our deep remorse, understanding and support. That is why, on behalf of the government, the state and its citizens, I apologize for the serious generational injustice that Irish mothers and their children visited who ended up in a mother and baby house or a county house. ‘
About 56,000 women and 57,000 children were placed or born in the homes, mostly run by nuns, from 1922 until the last one closed in 1998. Families brought the women to the homes, which were also orphanages and adoption agencies, to hide what was deemed. the shame of pregnancy and birth out of wedlock.
The report found no evidence of sexual abuse and little evidence of physical abuse – a version disputed by some survivors – but cruelty, intolerance, neglect and a ‘horrific’ infant mortality rate were about double the national average.
“We honored piety, but we could not even show basic kindness to those who needed it most,” the taoiseach said.
The 2,865-page report, compiled over five years, gave the survivors a voice, he said. “Former residents speak of a sense of shame for the situation they are in. The shame was not of them, it was of us,” he said.
The report received saturation coverage in Ireland, which supplanted the coronavirus pandemic.
Eamon Martin, Ireland’s most senior church figure, apologized for ‘disturbing and painful’ truths.
He said: ‘I accept that the church was clearly part of the culture in which people were regularly stigmatized, judged and rejected. For that and for the prolonged hurt and emotional distress that results, I unconditionally apologize. ”
The investigation was led by the revelation that there are no funeral records for nearly 800 children who died at a mother and baby in Tuam, County Galway. Excavations subsequently found significant amounts of human remains in an unused septic tank.
The Sisters of Bon Secours religious order, which ran the house, apologized. ‘We especially acknowledge that infants and children who died in the home were buried in a disrespectful and unacceptable manner. That is why we are deeply sorry. ”
Catherine Corless, a historian who helped uncover the Tuam scandal, welcomed the apology and encouraged the nuns to have the human remains excavated and DNA tested.