Archbishop: Bons Secours Sisters gave material to council in 1961
The Archbishop of Tuam says it is his understanding that the managers of the mother and baby Home in Tuam handed material to Galway County Council and health authorities in 1961.
His statement came just hours after the Minister for Children announced the establishment of a cross-departmental initiative which would form the basis for an inquiry into the discovery of 800 babies and childrens bodies in a septic tank beside the former mother and baby Home.
Archbishop Michael Neary says he welcomes the announcement by Minister for Children Charlie Flanagan that a cross-departmental initiative is being set up to examine burial arrangements for children in mother and baby homes.
It is likely the departments of Health, Justice, Children and possibly education will be involved and that a report will be presented to Government in the near future.
Dr Neary says he will co-operate fully with an examination, but that there is a clear moral imperative on the Bon Secours Sisters in this case to act upon their responsibilities in the interest of the common good.
He says as the Diocese did not have any involvement in the running of the home in Tuam, it does not have any material relating to it in archives.
But the Archbishop understands that material which the Bon Secours Sisters held, as managers of the Mother and Baby Home, was handed over to Galway County Council and Health authorities in 1961.
Archbishop Neary says it will be a priority for him, in co-operation with the families of the deceased, to have the remains of the children buried in consecrated ground.
