Archbishop of Tuam Dr Michael Neary says he "wishes again" to apologise for the hurt caused by the failings of the Roman Catholic Church in relation to unmarried mothers and children.
Dr Neary has also called for an inquiry into “ all aspects of life” during the time when unmarried mothers and their children were placed in institutional care.
This inquiry should broaden the focus from one particular religious congregation, and instead address “the roles and interrelationships between Church, State, local authorities and society generally”, he said in a homily preached for the feast of St Aengus in Tuam cathedral on Saturday evening.
He also noted that the use of “highly charged emotive language” in the past week , while “understandable”, could be “counter-productive”.
The archbishop, who last week said he was "horrified and saddened" at confirmation of "significant" remains of infants on the grounds of the former Bon Secours home in Tuam, said it was "now timely" that "this dimension of our social history be addressed and thoroughly examined".
The findings of the test excavation by the Commission for the Investigation into Mother and Babies home, published on March 3rd, involved taking samples, which were radiocarbon dated to the 1950s.
The home ran from 1925 to 1961, and local historian Catherine Corless has obtained death certificates for almost 800 children during that period.
“ This is a deeply distressing story for all of us, but especially so for those affected individuals and families. We can only attempt to understand the emotional upheaval which mothers suffered as they felt so helpless and isolated,” Dr Neary said.
“What is particularly harrowing is the report of high levels of mortality and malnutrition.
“ It was an era when ‘unmarried mothers’ - as our society at the time labelled women who were pregnant and not married - were often judged, stigmatised and ostracised by their own community and the Church, and this all happened in a harsh and unforgiving climate. Compassion, understanding and mercy were sorely lacking.”
“It is now timely that this dimension of our social history be addressed and thoroughly examined. To do so would begin the process of attempting to explain, but not to excuse, what happened in our not too distant collective past,”he said.
“ Perhaps we could begin with this fundamental question: ‘How could the culture of Irish society, which purported to be defined by Christian values, have allowed itself to behave in such a manner towards our most vulnerable’?,”he continued.
“There is an understandable sense of shared anger arising from this situation; people are deeply distressed and desperately upset by what they hear and read,” Dr Neary said.
“ There is a danger, however, that when anger begins to die down, we may be tempted to move quickly to the next social problem from the past without having fully understood the complex and tragic historical situation before us,”he said.
Using “ highly-charged emotive language, while understandable in the situation, may prove to be counter-productive”, he added
An inquiry to address the “roles and interrelationships between Church, State, local authorities and society generally” should “ensure that the truth will emerge no matter how unpalatable it may be to those on whichever side of the present discussion”, he said.
“In this way we will be enabled to move genuinely forward,”he said.
“One hopes that the report of the Commission will enable that truth to surface in a clear and objective manner,”he said.
“Even today, there are huge challenges surrounding how we care for the disadvantaged in our society. In years to come our present society will inevitably be subjected to scrutiny and will most likely be found deficient in many areas to which we are blind at present,”Dr Neary said.
“We need to learn from the past in order to prevent similar injustices in our time, and so as to inform our future generations,”he said.
“I wish to again apologise for the hurt caused by the failings of the church as part of that time and society when - instead of being cherished - particular children and their mothers were not welcomed, they were not wanted and they were not loved,” he said.
