The Catholic Church today apologised for leasing a plot of land that contained unmarked graves.
The grassy area on the fringes on Milltown Cemetery in west Belfast is believed to hold hundreds of unbaptised babies, some buried as recently as the 1980s, and a number of adults.
It originally lay within the grounds of the cemetery, however nine years ago the church leased it on a long term basis to the Ulster Wildlife Trust, which owns the adjacent Bog Meadows parkland.
The move prompted an outcry from relatives of those understood to buried there and, since last year, family members have been holding a weekly demonstration at the site calling for action.
In response the church commissioned an archaeological survey on the land in February to establish whether human remains lay there.
Bishop of Down and Connor Noel Treanor today confirmed it did contain unmarked graves and apologised for the hurt and distress caused to the affected families.
He stressed that the church’s original decision to lease the land had been made in good faith and said all necessary steps are being taken to return the plot to the cemetery.
“In the year 2000 the Trustees of Milltown Cemetery in good faith leased part of Milltown Cemetery to the Ulster Wildlife Trust,” he stated.
“It has become apparent that part of the ground included in the lease contained the unmarked graves of babies and older people buried many years ago.
“On this Good Friday, I, on behalf of the Trustees of the Cemetery past and present, apologise to all those who have loved ones buried in this section of the cemetery and I regret the hurt and distress that this has caused.
“I want to re-assure them that all necessary steps are being taken, with the co-operation of the Ulster Wildlife Trust, to take back possession of this sacred ground.”
The Ulster Wildlife Trust today said it would work with the church to ensure the land was returned as “quickly as possible”.
It is believed the mass grave was used between the 1940s and the early 1980s to bury stillborn babies or infants who had not been baptised before their deaths.
Under church rules at the time such children were not allowed to be buried in sanctified ground.
Bishop Treanor, whose apology was printed in a Belfast newspaper, said a memorial would be erected to those buried in the land.
“When this ground in which loved ones are buried has been returned to us, we will restore this part of the cemetery and erect an appropriate monument to the memory of all those who are buried there, both young and old, so that it will be a fitting place for their relatives to visit, pray for and remember their loved ones,” he added.
PA