Magdalene laundries Archives

Amid Mother and Baby Home scandal, new Dublin archbishop defends Irish religious orders

Feb 2, 2021

As the Catholic Church in Ireland is mired in a historical scandal on the behavior of Catholic religious orders in the running of homes for unwed mothers, Dublin’s new archbishop has praised the role of religious sisters and brothers in Irish society.

By Charles Collins

Northern Ireland report on Magdalene laundries makes archbishop ‘guilty and ashamed’

Jan 28, 2021

Ireland’s Catholic primate is feels “embarrassed and guilty” about a report on religiously-affiliated Mother and Baby homes in Northern Ireland.

By Charles Collins

NIreland leader orders inquiry into homes for unwed mothers

Jan 27, 2021

The leader of Northern Ireland on Tuesday ordered a new independent investigation that would give voice to the survivors of church-run homes for unmarried mothers and their babies, saying they have been silenced and shamed for too long.

By Associated Press

Irish archbishop: Don’t scapegoat Church on mother-and-baby homes

Jan 18, 2021

Archbishop Eamon Martin says Ireland’s Catholic Church shouldn’t be scapegoated for the dire conditions in the country’s mother-and-baby homes in the 20th century, noting the homes were commissioned by government authorities.

By Charles Collins

Irish PM sorry for ‘profound wrong’ of unwed mothers homes

Jan 13, 2021

Ireland’s prime minster issued a formal state apology Wednesday to the thousands of unmarried women and their children who endured pain, shame and stigma at church-run institutions, saying his government was determined to start righting the country’s wrongs.

By Sylvia Hui

Irish archbishop calls report on homes for unwed mothers ‘distressing’

Jan 13, 2021

Ireland’s top prelate has “unreservedly apologized” to those mistreated in Church-run homes for unwed mothers after a scathing report issued by a government commission.

By Charles Collins

Irish PM says ‘perverse’ morality drove unwed mothers’ homes

Jan 12, 2021

Ireland’s prime minister said Tuesday that the country must “face up to the full truth of our past,” as a long-awaited report recounted decades of harm done by church-run homes for unmarried women and their babies, where thousands of infants died.

By Jill Lawless

Irish abuse commission says it overestimated kids in religious-run homes

Nov 28, 2019

More than 10 years after its final report, the commission set up by the Irish government to investigate claims of abuse in religious-run institutions has admitted that it overestimated the number of children in the homes.

By Michael Kelly, CNS