Dead babies remembered in Ireland as Pope visits

Hundreds of people have marched through the town of Tuam, Ireland, reading aloud the names of an estimated 800 babies who died at a Catholic Church-run orphanage and were buried in a mass grave near a sewage area on the grounds.

The somber protesters read out: "Elizabeth Murphy, 4 months. Annie Tyne, 3 months. John Joseph Murphy, 10 months" and on and on. They lit candles and placed hundreds of pairs of tiny shoes around a tiny white coffin to honour the babies.

The demonstration took place near the Marian shrine at Knock, which Pope Francis visited earlier today.

The demonstrators were hoping to draw attention to the plight of the Tuam babies, who were exiled to the home because they were born to unwed mothers.

An amateur Irish historian, Catherine Corless, researched the deaths of some 800 children at the Bon Secours home. Last year, a government-mandated survey of the grounds determined there was a mass grave at the site.

Corless said of the Tuam protest: "This is much more moving than watching the pope deliver prepared speeches."
Francis prayed that such abuses never occur again and for the church "to proceed with justice and reparation, where responsible, for the violences."
Clodagh Malone said Francis was "shocked" at what they told him and "he listened to each and every one of us with respect and compassion."