Minute from Seán Morrissey to Seán Murphy and Liam Cosgrave (Dublin)

We have at present under consideration two applications from American citizens who are presently residing in England and who wish to take two Irish children with them to their homes in the USA for the purpose of legal adoption.

In this connection I would like to recall to your mind your decision of 20th May, 1955, that in future passports should not be issued to children

1. where the proposed adopting parents are not themselves both of the same religious persuasion;
2. in the case of US citizens resident in Europe applying for passports for Catholic children where no Catholic Charities report is available.

This decision was conveyed by me to Father Barrett¹ who is working under the direction of the Archbishop of Dublin in connection with external adoptions from the Dublin Diocese. Father Barrett subsequently asked me to clarify the decision in relation to the expression ‘Catholic Charities report’ and I informed him that every application was of course dealt with on its individual merits but that if a family [who] are living in a district in which a Catholic organisation, similar to and of equal standing to the Catholic Charities Organisation, operates a recommendation from such organisation would be considered but it would be necessary that such recommendation be accompanied by a report of a Home Study conducted by a trained worker and drawn up on the same lines as the reports submitted by Catholic Charities.

As the cases at present under consideration are the first of this kind that have been submitted since you gave your decision I would like to confirm that I have interpreted your ruling correctly and that it was not your intention to exclude completely the issue of passports in respect of children for future adoption by US citizens presently living in Europe where the application is supported by a reference based on a report of a Home Study by an approved European Welfare Organisation and drawn up on the same lines as those conducted by Catholic Charities.

It would be our intention to seek, in addition, from such applicants a recommendation from the Catholic Charities Organisation of the Diocese where the applicants normally reside or at worst, a report from the Chancellor of the Diocese.²