The Church of England will be the latest institution to issue an apology for its role in forced adoptions.
In 2016, the then Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, apologised for the “hurt caused” by adoption agencies acting in the name of the Catholic Church.
The Scottish and Welsh governments have also apologised for their roles in 2023.
When it comes, the Church of England’s apology is likely to put pressure on the UK government, which has never formally apologised for its role in forced adoptions.
The birth mothers and adoptees have campaigned for years for an apology from the UK government, arguing that many of the mother and baby homes were paid for by the state.
However, giving evidence to the Education Select Committee last month, Children and Families Minister Josh MacAlister acknowledged that the state “had a role” in historical forced adoptions.
“It is not good enough to describe what happened simply as a result of the actions of society,” he said.
MacAlister said the case for a formal apology was “being actively considered” by the government, adding the need for a “comprehensive” apology was “urgent”.
The BBC has contacted the government for comment.
Those involved in forced adoptions say they appreciate that the Church of England is now reaching out to them.
But Jan Doyle, who lived through the experience of giving birth in a mother and baby home, is cautious.
She wants to see the final draft of an apology before fully embracing it. “It was wicked the way they treated us, so [an apology] would have to be heartfelt – one that really did hold water.”
CoolJetEcho117 on
They’re really bringing self flagellation back this year.
Weak-Fly-6540 on
“Forced adoptions took place in the three decades after World War Two and involved tens of thousands of babies being taken from their mothers simply because the women were unmarried.
The Church ran about 100 mother and baby homes across England where unmarried pregnant women would be sent, in effect, to hide them from society.”
How am I only learning of this today?
OinkyDoinky13 on
Women are still not equal in CofE. Apologies are nice and show some acceptance of responsibility, but where is the significant and meaningful change?
DandyLionsInSiberia on
Extraordinary, from our smug modern perch, to recall just how viciously unmarried mothers were shamed across Europe, not so long ago either.
The woman bore the brunt of it all – the whispers, the exile, the grinding hardship. Meanwhile, the chap responsible for half the enterprise sauntered off, scarcely inconvenienced, if at all. A timeless arrangement, really, men escaping, women enduring.
Of course, you cannot retrofit justice onto history. The damage is done, the lives already bent out of shape. But a frank admission, a proper apology even, is something.
Still, as they say, the past is another country, and a thoroughly unpleasant one at that. These attitudes were not fringe, they were the rule, baked into the moral furniture of the Western world, across classes, churches, and supposed respectability alike though.
ufos1111 on
Church of england apologising for historical child trafficking you mean? Sounds like more of the epstein class activities.
Dissidant on
One of the few older relatives I have left went through this, he aged out of the system and eventually found his mother only for cancer to take her. Did nothing to deserve it no run ins with the law or anything, and to this day doesn’t trust social services who were basically complicit in this.
I visited to sit in on an assessment with a social worker, as hes getting on and at that point where will need help. Wouldn’t speak till they left the room, just completely shut down and this is a person who is otherwise sociable, funny etc, completely let down by them and he never forgot any of it
Its not just the families being broken up, we don’t talk about the childrens homes many ended up in, what some were put through there
Boomshrooom on
I’d never heard of this but that’s diabolical. I can’t imagine the immensity of the harm done to both the mothers and the children that were taken away.
-Ardea- on
They might as well just disband at this point. They spend more time performatively apologising and boasting about the extent to which they’ve abandoned Scripture than anything else.
9 commenti
The Church of England will be the latest institution to issue an apology for its role in forced adoptions.
In 2016, the then Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, apologised for the “hurt caused” by adoption agencies acting in the name of the Catholic Church.
The Scottish and Welsh governments have also apologised for their roles in 2023.
When it comes, the Church of England’s apology is likely to put pressure on the UK government, which has never formally apologised for its role in forced adoptions.
The birth mothers and adoptees have campaigned for years for an apology from the UK government, arguing that many of the mother and baby homes were paid for by the state.
However, giving evidence to the Education Select Committee last month, Children and Families Minister Josh MacAlister acknowledged that the state “had a role” in historical forced adoptions.
“It is not good enough to describe what happened simply as a result of the actions of society,” he said.
MacAlister said the case for a formal apology was “being actively considered” by the government, adding the need for a “comprehensive” apology was “urgent”.
The BBC has contacted the government for comment.
Those involved in forced adoptions say they appreciate that the Church of England is now reaching out to them.
But Jan Doyle, who lived through the experience of giving birth in a mother and baby home, is cautious.
She wants to see the final draft of an apology before fully embracing it. “It was wicked the way they treated us, so [an apology] would have to be heartfelt – one that really did hold water.”
They’re really bringing self flagellation back this year.
“Forced adoptions took place in the three decades after World War Two and involved tens of thousands of babies being taken from their mothers simply because the women were unmarried.
The Church ran about 100 mother and baby homes across England where unmarried pregnant women would be sent, in effect, to hide them from society.”
How am I only learning of this today?
Women are still not equal in CofE. Apologies are nice and show some acceptance of responsibility, but where is the significant and meaningful change?
Extraordinary, from our smug modern perch, to recall just how viciously unmarried mothers were shamed across Europe, not so long ago either.
The woman bore the brunt of it all – the whispers, the exile, the grinding hardship. Meanwhile, the chap responsible for half the enterprise sauntered off, scarcely inconvenienced, if at all. A timeless arrangement, really, men escaping, women enduring.
Of course, you cannot retrofit justice onto history. The damage is done, the lives already bent out of shape. But a frank admission, a proper apology even, is something.
Still, as they say, the past is another country, and a thoroughly unpleasant one at that. These attitudes were not fringe, they were the rule, baked into the moral furniture of the Western world, across classes, churches, and supposed respectability alike though.
Church of england apologising for historical child trafficking you mean? Sounds like more of the epstein class activities.
One of the few older relatives I have left went through this, he aged out of the system and eventually found his mother only for cancer to take her. Did nothing to deserve it no run ins with the law or anything, and to this day doesn’t trust social services who were basically complicit in this.
I visited to sit in on an assessment with a social worker, as hes getting on and at that point where will need help. Wouldn’t speak till they left the room, just completely shut down and this is a person who is otherwise sociable, funny etc, completely let down by them and he never forgot any of it
Its not just the families being broken up, we don’t talk about the childrens homes many ended up in, what some were put through there
I’d never heard of this but that’s diabolical. I can’t imagine the immensity of the harm done to both the mothers and the children that were taken away.
They might as well just disband at this point. They spend more time performatively apologising and boasting about the extent to which they’ve abandoned Scripture than anything else.