Thanks for that link, Greg F. The BBC story is the most balanced, rational presentation of the Tuam home story that I've seen.

And it doesn't mention the term "septic tank" a single time. Not once.

There's no doubt in my mind that the problems of the mother-and-baby homes were numerous and widespread - and that the people responsible for these problems were almost all Catholic, probably mostly nuns and priests. I wonder if people in 1961 knew about these problems. Do you think that possibly that could be the reason why they closed the Tuam home in 1961?

To my mind, that problem has been resolved. There are no more mother-and-baby homes, or industrial schools, or Magdalene Laundries. The truth remains that these things happened and that the Catholic Church of Ireland was the major party responsible. That shame will live on forever.

I wonder, though, about the passion and vehemence of the response to these stories of what happened fifty years ago. Do these same people expend as much passion and energy on current injustices?

-Joe Offer-