@Inspired_2write I am most interested in what you think about it since you lived through the orphanage experience at the hands of the system and the Catholic Church.
I’ve mentioned to you my paternal grandfather spent time in an orphanage in Latvia because the family was so poor and could not feed all of the children. I doubt it was a Catholic orphanage, I assumed it was some sort of government run orphanage, but I don’t know. Hard for me to think about it, I assume it was quite terrifying and upsetting for him. We aren’t Catholic, I don’t know if Catholic orphanages took in children from other religions back then. I wish I had asked him. Please write down your experiences for your children and grandchildren.
Anyway, I don’t think an apology from the Pope would do much to make any troubles or aches from the experience disappear, but an acknowledgment that children went through it is good, and an apology would do that I guess. I would want to know it’s better now, that’s what would matter to me most. If an actual nun who worked at the orphanage talked about it and showed deep remorse that would mean more to me I think.
I was happy to hear a Catholic friend of mine 15 years ago said her priest specifically brought up corporal punishment and that he was against it. I don’t know if that is now the position of the Catholic Church overall.
If anyone is interested, Pierce Brosnan starred in a movie called Evelyn https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_(2002_film) where his children are removed by the Irish government and sent to a Catholic orphanage. Some of the nuns are horrible and some nice. He goes to court to try to get them back. It’s based on a true story.
I wonder what the Catholic Church gained by taking in these children? Why were they influencing governments to send the children to the orphanages? Or, were they just trying to be helpful when governments were removing children or families were so poor they couldn’t take care of their children?