Posted on 06/04/2014 9:51:45 PM PDT by boatbums
Almost 800 babies and children were buried in a mass grave in Ireland near a home for unmarried mothers run by nuns, according to new research Wednesday which throws more light on the Irish Catholic Church's troubled past.
Death records suggest 796 children, from newborns to eight-year-olds, were deposited in a grave near a Catholic-run home for unmarried mothers during the 35 years it operated from 1925 to 1961.
Historian Catherine Corless, who made the discovery, says her study of death records for the St Mary's home in Tuam in County Galway suggests that a former septic tank near the home was a mass grave.
The septic tank, full to the brim with bones, was discovered in 1975 by locals when concrete slabs covering the tank broke up.
Until now, locals believed the bones mainly stemmed from the Great Irish famine of the 1840s when hundreds of thousands perished.
St Mary's, run by the Bons Secours Sisters, was one of several such 'mother and baby' homes in early 20th century Ireland.
Thousands of unmarried pregnant women -- labelled at the time as 'fallen women' -- were sent to the homes to have their babies.
The women were ostracised by the conservative-Catholic society and were often forced to hand over their children for adoption.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I think that since we discovered the Magdalen laundries thing was mostly media hype, the wiser heads do not take at face value anything the media says. Here is what the McAleese (Irish govt.) investigative report, months later, said about the Magdalen laundries story:
33. A large majority of the women who shared their stories with the Committee said that they had neither experienced nor seen other girls or women suffer physical abuse in the Magdalen Laundries.
34. In this regard, women who had in their earlier lives been in an industrial or reformatory school drew a clear distinction between their experiences there and in the Magdalen Laundries, stating clearly that the widespread brutality which they had witnessed and been subjected to in industrial and reformatory schools was not a feature of the Magdalen Laundries."
Bottom line: "The panel found that hospital staff failed to adhere to clinical guidelines which relate to severe sepsis and septic shock."
A conclusion they finally published after viciously kicking the stuffing out of the Catholic Church and Irish pro-life laws in the global press for one whole year.
They weren’t found in a septic tank, they were buried and death certificates exist for every last one of them..there is no scandal here just a lack of understanding of how much less child mortality is these days.
Glad we cleared that up.
"Between 1925 and 1937, 204 children died at the Home — an average of 17 per year. 17 deaths out of 200 children equals a mortality rate of 8.5%. It is interesting to compare that with the rest of the country at the time. In 1933, the infant mortality rate in Dublin was 83 per thousand (ie. a mortality rate of 8.3%), in Cork it was 89 per thousand ( 8.9%), in Waterford it was 102 per thousand ( 10.2%) and in Limerick it was 132 per thousand (8.5%).Are you getting the picture?....
"In foundling homes in the US in the early 20th century, mortality was sometimes reported as greater than In foundling homes in the US in the early 20th century, mortality was sometimes reported as greater than 90% among infants cared for in such institutions. Lack of understanding of nutrition, cross-infection associated with overcrowding by today’s standards, and the dangers of unpasteurised human milk substitutes were the main factors."
“Half of that statement is highly debatable.”
Maybe, pretty sure any neutral observer would clearly find concrete, objective anti-Catholic postings, again and again.
Like I said, she was clever.
That's not the half that's debatable. ;)
Actually, that information is inaccurate. Children in the care of Church homes were always baptised, regardless of whether they were born in wedlock. In fact, they could not stay unless they were baptised.
However, stillborn babies were not baptised, nor given funerals. There appears to be some muddling in these reports.
I think that is a very fair reading of the culture.
The Irish also have a social problem with a high rate of "addict personalities", which manifests as alcoholism, and has been intense enough to warp their culture and family structures.
I'm done on this topic. Ping me if you hear about the official results of the investigation. Thanks.
I agree. High genetic predisposition to (barely understood) thyroid disorders, which tends to foster depression, or self-medication with alcohol. Combined with the genuine strain of literary excellence (gift of gab), out comes the verbal abuse.
That didn’t stop you. You eagerly swallowed what the media wanted you to.
If this were already settled - and the original article gave no indication it was, only that it has begun - then why so much jumping to conclusions in the OTHER direction?
You’re a whiny hypocrite.
Like I already stated, this incident - among many others - places a stain on ALL of us who are pro-life.
Why are you jumping to this conclusion when all the facts aren’t known? This hasn’t placed a stain on anyone as far as we know at this point.
Catholics should be DEMANDING a fair and unbiased accounting and not avoiding it or condemning anyone who brings it up.
And they are. Haven’t you seen the bishop’s statement and what the nuns are doing? And let’s be clear. What's being condemned here are those who gleefully swallowed and regurgitated the stories that Catholics stuffed the bodies of 800 children in a septic tank and that nuns starved these children to death. Half truths are a whole lie. And you call yourself a Christian.
You posted the thread and went on the attack, and when your foregone conclusions were met with patient attempts to show where your facts may have been inaccurate, your reaction premature and your tone offensive, you say you're done? People who throw the first punch don't always get to just walk away. Woman up. Learn to debate factually, not emotionally. Sarcasm and outrage are the Kim Kardashian and Kanye West of the intellect.
Several who have posted on this thread are some of the most intelligent, well researched and fair-minded Christians on this Forum, so what is with demanding that Mrs. Don-o ping you in future on a topic wherein your starting position has already been legitimately challenged, but you refuse to concede even a little for the sake of good relations in this community? If you want to know how it all comes out, write yourself a reminder. Do your own research. Set up your RSS feed. Tag your own news sources. Use a search engine. Otherwise, you will continue to operate out of intellectual laziness, angry defensiveness and biased stereotypes instead of responding with discernment from solid facts in evidence.
This private Forum is a conservative family, a team, a movement to support others in the nation that was dedicated to Christ at its inception. Especially as regards any Christian religion, come here to learn and share, not to divide, condemn and reject the spiritual journeys of others on the same team. Any of us who claim the blessings of Christ must be wise and kind ambassadors for Him.
Hey ‘bums, you’re done? Really? No more Catholic bashing? No more duplicity?
Good.
Oh, honey, I don't need your mind reading attempts for why I posted this thread nor your helpful hints for how to "woman up". I certainly don't need lessons on how to debate and discuss topics on this forum. There are MANY of your fellow Roman Catholics who have no intention at all to "come here to learn and share" but intentionally to "divide, condemn and reject" everyone who isn't Roman Catholic. How about a little objectivity? I don't need to defend myself nor explain, yet again, why I post what I do. I rarely start threads much less ones that provoke out of the box designed to injure and inflame - and this certainly was not, contrary to the hysterical reactions some have expressed. Save that scolding for those within your clique who must deride, smear, snarl and snipe at everyone who dares defend the faith once delivered unto the saints.
Again, your tone. Dial it down. Honey.
Wow
I hope you were not offended
By your post? Not in the least. As you may be able to tell, I was offended by the slanted coverage and the way some freepers piled on, so I just wanted to get some facts into the discussion. Blessings to you...
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