‘Our meeting with bishop of Tuam was turning point’
Baby home campaigner welcomes ‘powerful’ words of new archbishop
EXCLUSIVE
HISTORIAN and children’s rights campaigner Catherine Corless has described the first meeting between the recently appointed Archbishop of Tuam and mother and baby home survivors as a ‘turning point’ for the Catholic Church.
Ms Corless, whose research discovered that 796 children died at the Tuam mother and baby home, many of whom were buried in a septic tank on the grounds, also said the Bon Secours order that ran the institution should ‘take note’ of Archbishop Francis Duffy’s words of reconciliation.
Ms Corless told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘I had invited Archbishop Duffy but I didn’t know he would come.
‘He did come and the words he spoke were warm and, I felt, very genuine and I thought to myself, “This is really a first”.
‘He said to the survivors who attended that the Church should do everything in its power to rectify the atrocity that took place.
‘It was very powerful because, you know, most of the survivors who were at Tuam still have their faith. They still go to Mass and believe, and that makes things very difficult for them because of what they suffered.
‘So to hear these words finally from the Catholic Church, well, that will have meant a lot to them.’
And she added: ‘I’m hoping now that the Bon Secours Sisters will reflect on the archbishop’s words.
‘They have never really engaged with me or the survivors. I’m hoping they’ll follow the lead of the archbishop.’
Archbishop Duffy visited the site of the former Tuam home this week to welcome a group of German runners who had completed a sixday marathon across six countries in memory of the children who died there.
The group, led by a Scottish campaigner against child abuse, John McGurk, left Osnabruck Town Hall in Germany last Thursday week before eventually arriving in east Galway on Tuesday.
On their way, they also laid a wreath at another home in Scotland where 400 children are believed to be buried.
Mr McGurk said the story of the 796 babies in Tuam had resonated deeply with him and he felt ‘dutybound’ to draw attention to the story.
Ms Corless also said she hoped the archbishop’s presence on Tuesday would bring the people of Tuam out in larger numbers at future events.
‘The survivors get great support all across Ireland but in Tuam, I’m not sure… The local people never really seem to turn out for them and that was the same on Tuesday.
‘These people had run all the way from Germany and only a handful of local people turned out to welcome them.
‘It was a poor show really.
‘The event had been flagged on local radio and newspapers but there was a very small crowd. I wonder if the people of Tuam are still a bit snobby about the home?’
However, Ms Corless added: ‘Maybe now they’ve seen the archbishop there, they’ll turn out in bigger numbers in the future.’
After the 18 runners were applauded onto the site of the former home last Tuesday, Archbishop Duffy acknowledged that there was still ‘unfinished business’ concerning the babies buried there.
He said he had met with a number of survivors since taking up his role last November and had heard many ‘moving, sad and tragic stories’.
Archbishop Duffy said the Church had to listen to survivors and to ‘play a big role in what emerges from the excavations and the burials’.
He also said he could understand the frustrations felt by people at the slow pace of progress in bringing the issue to a conclusion.
Much of this frustration has centred on delays in carrying out a full exhumation of remains at the Tuam site.
Ms Corless expressed her hope that the long-awaited Bill to allow for the exhumation would be passed before the Dáil breaks for its summer recess.
She told the MoS: ‘I believe the political will is there but until it happens, I won’t believe it.
‘We’ve waited so long. Please let [Children’s Minister] Roderic O’Gorman get it over the line this year.’
A spokesman for Mr O’Gorman’s department this weekend said the Institutional Burials Bill was proceeding ‘on track’.
They told the MoS: ‘The minister is committed to bringing the Bill through the legislative process as quickly as possible to allow the excavation of the site of the former mother and baby institution in Tuam to begin later this year or early next year.
‘The Bill completed Dáil second stage on March 3 and Dáil committee stage earlier this week. Report stage is to be scheduled imminently and is expected to take place in the next few weeks.’
Ms Corless is collaborating with Oscar-winning actor Liam Neeson on a new film about the Tuam babies scandal which is scheduled to go into production later next year.
A source close to the production said it was attracting ‘global interest’ and was on schedule.
‘It will get the Tuam story to an even bigger audience and validate the experience of every single survivor,’ the source said.
‘Most of the survivors still have their faith’
‘I wonder if the people of Tuam are a bit snobby?’