Zappone: Church should pay for Tuam dig
»» Minister tells church to help pay for burials »» Activist’s hope after pontiff told of tuam scandal
THE Church should cover the cost of removing the remains of almost 800 infants and youngsters from the notorious Tuam death pit, the Children’s Minister said yesterday.
Catherine Zappone has asked the Vatican to foot the bill for the mass exhumation of 796 bodies at the mother and baby home in Co Galway.
It is estimated the cost of taking the remains from the disused septic tank and giving them Christian burials will cost around €5million.
In a letter to Pope Francis Ms Zappone also urges the Church to accept responsibility for the horrors which went on the notorious institutions over seven decades.
In the two-page document she describes it as a “shameful” chapter in Irish history and says the Church must take real action, quickly and unconditionally, to make reparation to those who lived at its Tuam home.
Ms Zappone briefly met the Pope on Saturday and yesterday she told RTE’S Today with Miriam O’callaghan what she said.
She added: “Pope Francis, I am responsible for the Tuam mother and baby home. Children’s remains were found in a sewage system there.
“I hope the Church will make reparation for its part in this shameful chapter. It is important and I will write to you in detail.”
The letter containing these details has now been released and it calls on the Church to pay most of any costs retrieving the infants’ bodies.
SHAMEFUL
Ms Zappone wrote: “It is my strong conviction that given the role of the Church in this shameful chapter of recent Irish history it must play a practical role in addressing the hurt and damage.
“I believe the Church should contribute substantially to the cost of whatever option is decided by the Government.”
Last night Catherine Corless thanked the Minister for bringing the scandal to the Pope’s attention.
The historian discovered the official records which showed around 800 youngsters died at the home.
She told RTE: “The Church has ignored us completely in the last few years. Now that the Pope has this memo from Minister Zappone justice will be done at last... we hope.
“She has asked the Pope to contribute, I do not see how they can fail to respond to a request.”
Ms Corless exposed the scandal five years ago and later a series of disturbing reports revealed high mortality rates and claims of possible burials of children on the grounds of the former residence in Tuam.
The then Government decided to have these matters probed and an official Commission of Investigation was established in February 2015.
Its excavations confirmed the presence of bodies on the site of the former Bon Secours religious order home.
The commission believes there are a significant number of remains there, the minister said. An expert team is considering options to fulfil what Ms Zappone called the duty to these children.
She added: “There was little compassion shown to children and their mothers in this home.
“We cannot change what happened to them.
“For the little ones whose remains are in a sewage system, we owe them dignity in death. For their mothers, siblings and families we need to give them some peace.”
In March last year, the Commission of Investigation announced it had found “a significant number of human remains” at the site.
Ms Corless believes most of the children are buried at Tuam, part of
which had a local authority estate built on it in the 1970s.
She said: “I am very thankful to Minister Zappone for what she has done for the Tuam site in the last year.
“The fact that she spoke to the Pope when she got the chance we are delighted, as are all the survivors.
“In her memo she stated everything exactly as it is in plain words and she did ask that they [the Church] should help unconditionally and quickly and to say that nothing else will demonstrate remorse.
“You can’t be more specific and straightforward than that and we are very thankful.
“We’ve already been given a breakdown of costs on the five options that’s to be done at Tuam. The memorial will be the least expensive and we’re not accepting that because all the survivors are insisting that they take their brothers and sisters out of the sewerage area which is only right.
“The most expensive option seems to be around the €5million mark.
“I don’t think this is a large sum when over €25million was spent on the Pope’s visit.”
During the Pope’s address at Phoenix Park on Sunday more than 1,000 people gathered for a silent vigil in Tuam to remember the babies in the sewer.
Now that the Pope has this memo justice will be done at last... we hope
CATHERINE CORLESS CO GALWAY YESTERDAY