Michael Clifford: Real shame lies with Church, State and society
The report makes clear that the Church is not solely culpable for the regime. But the Catholic church was the primary force in fashioning the mores of the day, particularly in relation to sex and shame.
Why? Why were these homes set up? Why were young women spirited away behind high walls as if they were a danger to society? Why were their children regarded as unclean embarrassments, destined to a lifelong status of second-class citizens?
The publication of the final report Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes shines a light into a dark corner of 20th-century Ireland.
