By Muvija M
LONDON, June 18 (Reuters) - The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, apologised on Thursday for the Church of England's role in forcibly separating 185,000 children from unmarried mothers and putting them up for adoption in the decades after World War Two.
At that time Christian churches and the British state created a system in which young women with children outside of marriage were shamed and coerced into giving up their babies to comply with what they said were the prevailing social norms.
The Church of England's role in the practice was through so-called "mother and baby homes" where unmarried women were sent, often against their will, during pregnancy or after giving birth and separated from their babies - similar to a scheme run in Ireland by the Catholic Church.
"We are profoundly sorry for the pain, trauma and stigma experienced - and still carried - by many people because of historical adoption practices in homes affiliated to the Church of England," Mullally was quoted as saying in a Church of England statement.
The government is also expected to apologise on behalf of the state for the practice. Other countries, including Ireland and Australia, have in recent years issued similar apologies.
The Adult Adoptee Movement, which represents people who were forcibly adopted, criticised the Church of England statement for what it said was "minimising, passive and distancing language", adding that the Church failed to recognise specific harms.
A report published by the Church on Thursday alongside the apology said there could have been as many as 200 mother and baby homes in the period 1949 to 1976.
The report said life in such homes, where some women were made to live for several years, was "characterised by domestic work, prayer and penitence".
A separate government report published in March has described the treatment of mothers-to-be, many under 18, during pregnancy and labour as "inhumane", and said adoptees suffered lifelong impacts from separations.
Mullally acknowledged that women and girls were at times made to carry out menial and manual work as a form of "correction" in these homes.
"Today, we say to each of you: the shame you were made to feel was wrong. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Rather, we are deeply ashamed that this happened to people in the care of Christian communities," she said.
(Reporting by Muvija M; editing by William James)
