Over the past few years I have met some amazing people, survivors who have shown how the human spirit can triumph despite so many obstacles placed in their way.
Some of them were locked up in Magdalene Laundries.
Others were locked up in the Tuam Mother and Baby Home, had to survive on very little food, and were told they were “bastards” when they went to school.
It’s hard to get a good shot at life if you were branded as “illegitimate” and treated as a second class citizen from the moment you were born.
Others I have met have family members among the 796 “Tuam Babies”.
They are being stonewalled in their search for the truth and denied compensation for the horrific pain and abuse they suffered earlier in life.
These people, and many other Irish people, have been treated appallingly by the Roman Catholic Church.
When Pope Francis visits Ireland, he does so as the head of an international organisation which facilitated the abuse of Irish children and blocked the Irish authorities from finding out the truth afterwards.
Does he owe us an apology?
Not to mention a huge amount of compensation for the survivors?
My latest blog post was used as an opinion piece for Irish Central at the weekend:
https://www.irishcentral.com/opi…/pope-francis-irish-apology