
The Lost Children of Ireland - keithm
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/28/world/europe/tuam-ireland-babies-children.html
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radiorental
If there's one minute fraction of a good thing to come out of this it's
generational change that is now both ignoring and wrestling control of
education & politics from the Irish Catholic Church.

It is all I can do to bite my tongue when I receive questioning looks from
elder relatives for not going to church, not getting married in a 'real
church' etc etc.

I respect my elders but I can't square the circle that is their tacit
acceptance of the evils the church has done in Ireland.

~~~
CalRobert
Maybe it's a matter of being in the south Dublin bubble, but I can't think of
anyone I know that is religious (aside from a vague cultural identity sense).
For the most part I hear the church regarded with scorn.

Things like this may help - [https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/school-
baptism-bar...](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/school-baptism-
barrier-is-unfair-on-parents-says-bruton-1.3137790) \- though for all that I
just added my daughter to an educate together waitlist. She's two months old.

~~~
padraic7a
The vague cultural identity can have fairly concrete impacts though -
baptisims, kids making their first communion in school thus religious
instruction, Church control of schools etc.

From the 50 odd primary schools listed here as being ins South Dublin a quick
read through puts a majority as religious run schools just based on the name:
[https://www.schooldays.ie/primary-schools-in-
ireland/primary...](https://www.schooldays.ie/primary-schools-in-
ireland/primary-Dublin-south-county-dublin)

My wife is expecting our first child in a few weeks - I expect to go from the
registrar office with his birth cert straight to the two nearest Educate
Together schools.

~~~
CalRobert
I wasn't even thinking of baptism or communion, to be honest it was more of a
"I guess my family would be considered protestant / Catholic" sense.

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adekok
It's similar in other countries, too:

[http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29765623](http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29765623)

[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/a-history-of-residential-
schoo...](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/a-history-of-residential-schools-in-
canada-1.702280)

~~~
thriftwy
And now we are basically told that these actual sufferers described in the
article are "colonial oppressors" and sometimes "bigots", equally responsible
for whatever is pegged on them.

Somebody have found an excellent way to distribute their responsibility on the
whole population when amassing even more wealth for themself.

~~~
nl
You seem to be pretty angry about something no one seems to be saying.

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thriftwy
I'm afraid we are still having this all across the world, in the form of child
protection services.

People who, contrary to their naming, only care about taking children from
their parents and putting them in institutions or redistributing them to
foster parents.

Whatever tiny grain of trust I had in them burned in many scandals they get
themself in and then failed to get out properly.

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nik61
Perhaps it was everywhere:
[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/bindoon-...](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/bindoon-
boys-town-the-sad-truth-behind-britains-lost-children-1782544.html)

~~~
acorkery
Not exactly the same, but there are kids suffering the same and worse
conditions right now in orphanages throughout eastern Europe - Belarus,
Romania, Russia.

~~~
thriftwy
I'm pretty sure most of children who was in orphanage in Russia are adopted
already and there's a line for potential foster parents.

(On the other hand, people are reluctant to adopt teenagers who are otherwise
entitled to free apartment as they come of age)

Expect Belarus to be the same but not sure about Ukraine.

~~~
acorkery
In the case of Russia, I was mostly thinking of it's treatment of disabled
kids by the state. Up to 30% of russian disabled children are
institutionalized - maybe orphanage is not the right word.

[https://www.hrw.org/report/2014/09/15/abandoned-
state/violen...](https://www.hrw.org/report/2014/09/15/abandoned-
state/violence-neglect-and-isolation-children-disabilities-russian)

~~~
thriftwy
Yes I can see how it is a problem. Not many people want to adopt a disabled
child, and people will often reject heavily disabled babies after birth. It's
not an easy problem to tackle.

Iceland shows promise in this respect, where they now have essentially zero
Down syndrome babies thanks to screening.

> Russia should stop abuse of children with disabilities in state care

they write, but it seems impossible to me. How would you make overworked and
irritated workers of institutions truly care about emotional well-being of
their subjects?

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HarryHirsch
These are the outcomes you get from a state church. The purpose of the Church
is to be the opposition, not the right hand of government.

You do ask yourself when people in the US will turn away from
nondenominational Baptism, it's about time.

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faebi
Related, the "Verdingkinder" in Switzerland [http://www.bbc.com/news/world-
europe-16620597](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-16620597)

