The Church of England has issued a long-awaited apology for its role in forced adoptions that occurred after the Second World War. Between the 1940s and 1980s, hundreds of thousands of children were forcibly separated from their mothers in the United Kingdom. Survivors have testified to suffering abuse, neglect, and lifelong trauma as a result.
Anglican mother and baby homes were part of a network of institutions, alongside Catholic and Salvation Army homes, where unmarried women were sent to give birth in secret before being compelled to hand their babies over to married couples for adoption.
On Thursday, Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally stated: “We are profoundly sorry for the pain, trauma and stigma experienced, and still carried, by many people because of historical adoption practices in homes affiliated to the Church of England.” She acknowledged hearing firsthand accounts of mothers separated from their babies with few meaningful choices, and recognised that many women and girls were forced to perform menial labour as a form of correction. Mullally also noted that prejudice based on race and disability shaped experiences and outcomes.
Phil Frampton, a survivor and campaigner from Manchester, was born in 1953 at Rosemundy mother and baby home in St Agnes, Cornwall, because his parents were in a mixed-heritage relationship. He described the apology as “a huge and historic victory for all those unmarried mothers and their children who had committed no crime but were persecuted by the church.” He added that the church has much more to do to undo the harm before it can restore moral authority, but the apology will help lift decades of shame and guilt from survivors and place it where it belongs—on the church and the governments it served.
The Adult Adoptee Movement, a survivors organisation, criticised the apology, stating there was “no offer of redress or support” and accusing the church of downplaying its role and insulting survivors. They called the statement “not a meaningful apology” and said engaging with the church’s apology process was distressing and retraumatising.
The church explained that the apology followed a research project drawing on incomplete records, firsthand accounts, media reports, and parliamentary scrutiny. The Church of England admitted involvement in potentially more than 200 homes, with the number of mothers and babies probably in the tens of thousands in a decentralised system. It noted that its moral welfare council’s guidance was clear that mothers and babies should be kept together where possible and that any adoption should be consensual, but acknowledged this was not always followed in practice. The church insisted there were examples of kindness, but standards and experiences varied, with some cases involving judgmental attitudes and difficult conditions shaped by limited resources and social pressures.
Mullally paid tribute to survivors and organisations who testified, saying: “The shame you were made to feel was wrong … we are deeply ashamed that this happened to people in the care of Christian communities. All of this took place in a society that often valued secrecy and respectability over compassion and care.” She committed the church to listen, lament, learn, and ensure change, praying for all who carry these experiences.
