Archbishop Apologizes for Church of England’s Role in Forced Adoption of 185,000 Children

The Church of England has apologized for its part in the historical forced adoption of tens of thousands of children in the years following World War II.

Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally said in a June 18 statement on behalf of the church that it was “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.”

In the post-war decades, churches and the British state created a system in which unwed mothers were shamed and coerced into giving up their children in order to comply with what they said were prevailing social norms.

The church’s role was in practice through the running of “mother and baby homes,” where unmarried women were sent during or after pregnancy or after giving birth and being separated from their babies—a similar practice run in the Republic of Ireland by the Catholic Church.

A report published by the Church of England into historical adoption practices in England and Wales in the period from 1949 to 1976, during which an estimated 185,000 children born to unmarried mothers were put up for adoption.

It said incidences had been reported “of what has been described as ‘forced adoptions’, where unmarried mothers have expressed feeling unsupported in making decisions about whether to keep their baby, or in some cases have described being separated from them against their will.”

The archbishop said in her statement that the church had “heard first-hand the accounts of mothers who were separated from their babies in circumstances where they had very few meaningful choices.”

She said many women and girls were sometimes made to carry out menial and manual labor, “as a form of ‘correction.’”

“All of this took place in a society that often valued secrecy and respectability over compassion and care. The Church of England was part of that society and helped to sustain those attitudes,” Mullally said.

“While homes were encouraged to keep mothers and babies together, this often did not happen.”

The archbishop said the Church of England does not condone the practices, nor will it repeat them.

The church had heard testimonies from those affected, who have “told us about the pain, shame, and indignity experienced both then and now,” she said.

“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.”

The Adult Adoptee Movement, which represents people who were forcibly ‌adopted, said the church’s statement “is not a meaningful apology.”

There was no recognition of the specific harms caused, the group said, adding that the statement used “minimizing, passive, and distancing language throughout.”

A separate report in March from a House of Commons committee in the UK Parliament said the treatment of these expectant mothers, many of whom were under 18, during their pregnancy and labor was “inhumane.”

The government is ​expected to apologize on behalf of the state for its part in the practice.

Other countries, including the Republic of Ireland ​and Australia, have, in recent years, issued similar apologies.

Reuters contributed to this report.