Tuam move is about showing care for those who were denied it in life
I WAS both horrified and aghast after reading Ray Dunne’s letter (‘Nothing will be gained by disinterring Tuam babies’, Irish Independent, October 25).
I found the content of his letter upsetting and so disrespectful to women and children.
To say that “no Christian purpose will be served by this” is wholly disrespectful to the babies and their mothers when you consider that being a Christian implies that one has or shows qualities associated with Christians, especially those of decency, kindness, and fairness.
The dichotomy is that the actions of this religious order that should have displayed these attributes did the complete opposite and its terrible secrets have been exposed.
And yet Mr Dunne thinks that it would be decent, kind and fair to leave these children and babies in a septic tank.
The women involved will not be reminded of the horrors they endured by the disinterment. They never forgot in the first place.
Any woman whose child was buried there would make their sister, brother, daughter, son or friend promise to keep looking for her baby’s remains and make sure they are buried with her.
Imagine the thought of all those children not only being thrown into a septic tank, but to have to stay there because someone labelled this horrible event as a “saga”.
The point of this disinterment is to show compassion to women and babies who didn’t received it in life when they needed it. This isn’t just about shaming the perpetrators, it’s also to show the terrible way women and children were treated by religious orders in this country will not remain buried and hidden away any more.
Tuam will not be the only place in Ireland with one of these graves and people like Catherine Corless are exposing these terrible deeds so they will not happen again.
Keep up the good work. Louise Bailey Ennis, Co Clare