Lost children of Smyllum will be remembered at last but why has it taken so long?

THERE are many things we do not yet know about the Poor Sisters of Charity.
We still do not know, for example, how many babies, children and adults they buried in the mass, unmarked grave at St Mary’s cemetery in Lanark, a mile or so from the Smyllum Park orphanage. In truth, we may never know.
However, we do know more today than we did a few weeks ago.

https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/lost-children-of-smyllum-will-be-remembered-at-last-but-why-has-it-taken-so-long/ 

Thousands Rally in Dublin Against Ireland’s Abortion Ban

Thousands of people marched in Dublin on Saturday to demand an end to the country’s constitutional ban on abortion, one of the strictest such laws in the Western world.

The March for Choice is an annual protest against the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution, which enshrines a ban on abortions, but this year it was held just days after the government announced it would hold a referendum next year that could potentially change the law.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/30/world/europe/irish-abortion-ban-rally.html?emc=edit_tnt_20170930&nlid=63876270&tntemail0=y 

Ireland's 'house of tears': Why Tuam's survivors want justice for lost and abused children

The St. Mary’s home for babies in Tuam, Ireland, was one of several facilities to deal with the perceived shame of ‘illegitimate’ children set up by the Irish government and run by Catholic religious orders. At this site in Tuam, on the former St. Mary’s grounds, excavations uncovered a mass grave where it is thought that 800 babies are buried.
In a small meeting room on the second floor of the Corralea Court Hotel, Patrick McDonagh tells his story in a rushed confession. "It was the way everything was covered up; the way they got rid of me. I was born there. I was there until 6 1/2," says the 63-year-old. He leans forward as he speaks in a hushed voice. On either side of him, others listen, their faces expressionless. They, too, will have their turn to reveal what few of them have spoken about before.

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/tuam-ireland-house-of-tears/article36431106/ 

Smyllum nuns in £6 million land sale: Politicians back our campaign for memorial to orphans as we reveal Sisters’ plan to sell up

THE ORDER of nuns who ran the orphanage where more than 400 children died are trying to sell the land around it for £6m, we can reveal. Their plans to sell the acres around Smyllum Park for millions can be disclosed amid escalating demands for a memorial remembering the names and lives of the lost youngsters.
Our campaign to remember the children won all-party support after we revealed how at least 402 babies, toddlers and teenagers died while being looked after by the nuns – who belonged to an order called the Daughters of Charity, worth nearly £60m – in Lanark.

https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/smyllum-nuns-in-6-million-land-sale-politicians-back-our-campaign-for-memorial-to-orphans-as-we-reveal-sisters-plan-to-sell-up/ 

Woman says she was abused at “mass grave” orphanage run by nuns.

A woman has claimed she was abused at an orphanage run by nuns where the bodies of hundreds of children were “buried” in a mass grave. Theresa Tolmie-McGrane said she suffered mental, physical and sexual abuse at Smyllum Park Orphanage in Lanark in the 1970s. A BBC and Sunday
Post investigation found that at least 400 children from the institution are thought to be buried in an unmarked grave at the town’s St Mary’s Cemetery.
The orphanage, run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, was home to more than 10,000 children between opening in 1864 and closing in 1981.

http://www.scotsman.com/regions/glasgow-strathclyde/woman-says-she-was-abused-at-mass-grave-orphanage-run-by-nuns-1-4561677 

Woman claims priest abused her while at orphanage at centre of mass grave find

A woman has claimed she was abused at an orphanage run by nuns where the bodies of hundreds of children were “buried” in a mass grave.
Theresa Tolmie-McGrane told the BBC she suffered mental, physical and sexual abuse at Smyllum Park Orphanage in Lanark in the 1970s. A BBC and Sunday Post investigation found that at least 400 children from the institution are thought to be buried in an unmarked grave at the town’s St Mary’s Cemetery.

https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/scotland/woman-claims-priest-abused-her-while-at-orphanage-at-centre-of-mass-grave-find/ 

Police reviewing child abuse claims involving orphanage

Police Scotland are reviewing old cases involving a notorious orphanage, raising the possibility of prosecutions nearly 30 years after it closed, STV News has learned.
Allegations that children were physically and sexually abused at Smyllum Park, Lanark, first emerged in the 1990s, but it's thought no-one has ever been convicted of committing an offence against any of the thousands of children who lived within its walls.

https://stv.tv/news/west-central/1397847-police-scotland-reviewing-old-cases-involving-orphanage/ 

Nuns raped school Boy Christchurch New Zealand

A man, sexually abused as a child by a nun, kept his anguish secret for most of his life. Emily Spink talks to him about his quest for justice. 

In a ‘‘very rare’’ ruling, the Catholic Church has found a nun guilty of sexually abusing a child in her care, it has emerged.  Following an inquiry, the Catholic Church has ruled Mother Lucia guilty of historic sexual and physical abuse against a Christchurch schoolboy ‘‘on the balance of probabilities’’. The prioress died in 1997, aged 90.

https://www.pressreader.com/new-zealand/the-press/20170701/281496456301617 

No crime' over orphanage mass grave

Prosecutors said there was no evidence of crimes being committed at an orphanage where at least 400 children are thought to have been buried in an unmarked mass grave. A BBC and Sunday Post investigation discovered they were buried in the cemetery plot between 1864 and 1981.
They were children from the nearby Smyllum Park Orphanage in Lanark, run by an order of Catholic nuns. The Crown Office said it recognised the level of public concern. But it said there was currently no evidence of criminal activity.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-41242514# 

Bodies of 'hundreds' of children buried in mass grave at Scottish orphanage

Up to 400 children died at a Scottish orphanage run by nuns and were buried in a single unmarked grave, new research has revealed.

The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, which ran the Smyllum Park orphanage in Lanarkshire, has previously acknowledged that 158 children were buried in compartments at a nearby cemetery. But there have long been suspicions that the real figure was far higher.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/10/bodies-hundreds-children-buried-mass-grave/amp/ 

Child trafficking: Scores missing from UK care homes

Trafficked children and unaccompanied child asylum seekers are going missing from UK care homes at "an alarmingly high rate", two charities have said.

Almost 600 children disappeared last year, with more than 200 still missing, ECPAT UK and Missing People said. The charities called on the UK government and local authorities to reform the child protection system.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37982221# 

Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry: 'Widespread abuse' in children's homes

Children's homes run by some churches, charities and state institutions in Northern Ireland were the scene of widespread abuse and mistreatment of young residents, a report has found.

The Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA) studied allegations of abuse in 22 homes and other residential institutions between 1922 to 1995.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-38685157