Churches acknowledge suffering of forced adoptions, but won’t apologize
The umbrella group for about 30 Dutch church denominations says it recognizes the suffering of mothers whose babies were taken from them but will not offer the apologies the women have demanded, Trouw reports.
The Interkerkelijk Contact in Overheidszaken, known as the CIO, said church organizations played a role in the practice that affected roughly 15,000 young, often unmarried women between 1956 and 1984. Under pressure from families, child-protection services, and church groups that actively taught that unmarried motherhood was not an option, babies were frequently removed from their mothers immediately after birth and placed in institutions or with foster parents. The Dutch government, through cabinet ministers, plans to issue a statement of regret this summer.
The CIO described the separations as “a drastic and painful event.” It said it acknowledges the suffering but sees no grounds for an apology.
CIO spokesman Arthur Miedema said Tuesday evening: “Our statement contains everything we want to say about this, and we think this does justice to the situation.”
The churches pointed to the value of the family in Biblical tradition. “From that starting point, keeping mother and child together has been an important guideline,” the CIO said. “That is precisely why it is painful to see that the practice at that time was not always in line with those intentions.”
The CIO said churches “continue to propagate that separating mother and child is not in accordance with their convictions.” It said it will give parents and children access to any information the churches hold and will offer “pastoral guidance and support.” That support, the group said, would contribute to “recognition, care, and, where possible, processing and healing.”
