"A dark chapter in the life of the Church and of society."

The words are from Irish Archbishop Eamon Martin, who reacted on Tuesday January 12 to the release of the much-anticipated report in Ireland on homes for single mothers, mostly run by the Catholic Church between 1922 and 1998.

This report from the Commission of Inquiry into Mother and Baby Homes, commissioned by the government in 2015, sheds light on how young pregnant women (56,000 for the period under review) have been hidden for decades from Irish society.

It also reveals the high rate of infant mortality - deaths before the age of one year - within the 18 households taken into account, a rate described as "appalling" in the report: "A total of around 9,000 children died in the institutions ", we can read, that is to say" about 15% of all the children who were in the (homes) ".

"I recognize that the Church was clearly part of this culture in which people were frequently stigmatized, judged and rejected," Eamon Martin continued in his statement after the report was released.

"For this, and for the lasting hurt and emotional distress that resulted from it, I offer a wholehearted apology to the survivors and to all those who are personally touched by the realities the report unveils."

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The Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a female religious congregation that owned and managed three of the largest Irish homes during the reporting period, also responded to these revelations.

"It pains us a lot that babies have died in our care," she said in a statement.

And to continue: "We sincerely regret that so many babies died, especially with regard to (the home at) Bessborough in the 1940s (the proportion of children who died in this home was 75% for the year 1943 according to the report, Editor's note). We also want to recognize the terrible suffering and loss suffered by mothers. "

A "dark, difficult and shameful chapter in Irish history"

The Irish Prime Minister said on Tuesday that the country must "face the truth of (its) past".

Micheal Martin also felt that the young women and their children who passed through these homes had paid a heavy price for Ireland's "perverse religious morals" over the past decades.

"We had a completely distorted attitude when it came to sexuality and intimacy. Young mothers and their sons and daughters paid a terrible price for this dysfunction," he continued.

The Irish head of government is due to present a formal apology to those affected by the scandal on Wednesday in Parliament for what he calls "a dark, difficult and shameful chapter in very recent Irish history".

The Report of the Commission of Investigation into the Mother & Baby Homes can be accessed here:



➡️ https://t.co/dsWoAGh9at



List of Government actions in response to the Report and a list of supports for anyone who may need them can be accessed here:



➡️ https://t.co/FvO2SjF6Ci pic.twitter.com/pQJtftpfcc

- Roderic O'Gorman TD (@rodericogorman) January 12, 2021

"The report makes it clear that for decades Ireland has had a stifling, oppressive and brutally misogynistic culture (with) a pervasive stigma against single mothers and their children," said Minister for Children Roderic O ' Gorman.

A coalition of survivor groups, for their part, said the report was "really shocking", but that it elicited mixed feelings because it did not fully reflect the role played by the state in managing the outbreaks.

"What happened was just one aspect of the newly established state that was deeply anti-women in both its laws and its culture," the group stressed, which described Micheal Martin's statement claiming that the Irish company was to blame as a "way of getting around".

This report should quickly be acted upon.

As reported by The Irish Times, the Irish government is expected to present proposals for a reparation plan by April 30, with financial compensation paid to survivors.

The religious orders that ran some of the homes should also be asked to contribute to the cost of compensation.

Legal changes should also be introduced to give survivors the right to access their records, including adoption records.

With Reuters

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