The Bishop of Down and Connor has officially consecrated land where the remains of babies and infants are thought to have been buried. The Bog Meadows, at the bottom of Milltown Cemetery in west Belfast, is thought to hold hundreds of unmarked graves.
The land was owned by the Catholic Church but sold some years ago to the Ulster Wildlife Trust.
On Sunday, Bishop of Down and Connor, Dr Noel Treanor, blessed the plot
He said it was important to recognise there were burials in the area.
"The church is desirous and happy to undo any errors, to honour the memory of these children, to recognise the grief of the parents, not only in the loss of their children but in their sense the neglect of those children by the community by the church," he said.
"As of October of last year, the diocese went actively about reacquiring this part of the graveyard."
The ceremony took place during Cemetery Sunday.
Families believed hundreds of dead babies may have been inadvertently transferred out of the cemetery when the land was sold.
They had been campaigning to have the plot consecrated and treated as an integral part of Milltown Cemetery.
Earlier this year, archaeologists undertook a radar search for graves in the Bog Meadows
Is it understood the fence which separated the plot from the rest of the cemetery has now been taken down.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to us or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that we agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Source (BBC)
SV (2)