UK Cardinal apologises over adoption of babies born to unmarried mothers

The head of the Catholic Church in Britain has apologised for hurt caused to young unmarried mothers who say they were pressured into giving up their babies for adoption in the years after the Second World War.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, said practices by adoption agencies acting in the name of the Catholic Church were "lacking in care and sensitivity", along with those of other religious and state organisations involved in adoption during that period.