Speaking at 10.30am Mass on Sunday
in Tuam Cathedral, Dr Neary said his continued priority was to seek a
“dignified re-interment” of the remains of children in consecrated
ground - in cooperation with the families of the deceased.
The archdiocese would also
continue to co-operate with the Commission of Investigation into Mother
and Baby Homes, he said,although not directly involved in running the
institution, which closed in 1961.
The commission’s work, “though difficult to read and comprehend” was “another necessary step on the path to the truth”, he said.
“I was greatly shocked, as we all
were, to learn of the extent of the numbers of children buried in the
graveyard at the mother and baby home in Tuam,” Dr Neary said to the
packed congregation for the first mass of Lent.
“ I was made aware of the
magnitude of this situation by media reporting and historical
research,”he said, referring without naming her to the work of local
historian Catherine Corless.
“ I am horrified and saddened to
hear, through the commission’s interim statement of March 3rd 2017, that
quite a large quantity of human remains were discovered on this site
which, on analysis, matches the timescale of the Tuam mother and baby
home,” he said.
“This points to a time of great
suffering and pain for the little ones and their mothers. Albeit not
unexpected, I was very upset as I read the commission’s findings made
public on Friday,” he continued.
“I can only begin to imagine the
huge emotional wrench which the mothers suffered in giving up their
babies for adoption or by witnessing their death,” Dr Neary said.
“ Some of these young vulnerable
women may already have experienced rejection by their families. The pain
and brokenness which they endured is beyond our capacity to
understand,” he said.
“ It is, then, simply too
difficult to comprehend their helplessness and suffering as they watched
their beloved child die,” he said.
Dr Neary said he found the first
reading from last Sunday’s Mass, drawn from the prophet Isaiah,
particularly comforting, and he quoted Isaiah 49:14-15.
“Regardless of the time lapse involved this is a matter of great public concern,” Dr Neary said.
“I welcome the fact that the
commission has already asked that the relevant State authorities take
responsibility for the appropriate treatment of the remains, and that
the coroner has been informed,” he said.
“ It continues to be a priority
for me, in cooperation with the families of the deceased, to seek to
obtain a dignified re-interment of the remains of the children in
consecrated ground in Tuam,” he said.
“As the archdiocese did not have
any involvement in the running of the home in Tuam, I have no specific
information on the manner of interment of remains, but any material we
have which is even remotely related to the investigation, has been
handed over in full to the commission,” Dr Neary said.
“The commission’s update on its
work is very difficult for us to read and comprehend, but it is another
necessary step on the path to the truth. We have nothing to fear from
the truth because, as Jesus himself assures us, the truth always sets us
free,” he continued.
“Therefore, the archdiocese will
continue to assist the commission in every way possible until its work
is concluded and its final report is published,” he said.
“Today, however, those who have suffered are uppermost in our minds and at the very heart of our prayers,” Dr Neary concluded.
He prayed for consolation for “all
those mothers whose children died in the mother and baby home, their
families, and all who are affected by and upset by the news which came
as a body-blow to us all”.