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

Please see across an account of an interview which Mr. Woods, Miss Kenny and I had with Monsignor O’Grady, Secretary of the National Conference of Catholic Charities. The interview arose out of a letter from us asking for a list of registered Agencies.¹ This was required because we had been informed that in fact some of the Catholic Charities agencies were not licensed for adoptions in the States where they were operating.

It was a disturbing interview in as much as the Monsignor was reduced to heavy criticism of his own Organisation. As you can see, he told us that there were comparatively few States which he could recommend unreservedly. He put forward the suggestion that Irish children going for adoption should be channelled into a certain number of States where the Organisation is fully efficient and adequate ‘follow up’ procedure is employed. We told him that this might facilitate our procedure at this end but that we would still have the same requirements as to home studies, recommendations, etc. The Monsignor told us that he hoped that this matter would be raised at a meeting of the Directors of Catholic Charities this month.

We subsequently discussed the matter with Fr. Barrett of the Catholic Social Welfare Bureau who told us that he would write to a Fr. Lennon at the Catholic Charities Headquarters for a list of Agencies which are licensed for child adoption in the different States. Meantime we are demanding, in existing cases and until such a list appears, additional evidence that the Agency concerned in the Adoption is duly licensed in the State where it operates.