Spain's Stolen Babies: More Evil From The Church
From the BBC, a story by Katya Adler with the subhead "Spanish society has been shaken by allegations of the theft and trafficking of thousands of babies by nuns, priests and doctors, which started under Franco and continued up to the 1990s":
Lawyers believe that up to 300,000 babies were taken.The practice of removing children from parents deemed "undesirable" and placing them with "approved" families, began in the 1930s under the dictator General Francisco Franco.
At that time, the motivation may have been ideological. But years later, it seemed to change - babies began to be taken from parents considered morally - or economically - deficient. It became a money-spinner, too.
The scandal is closely linked to the Catholic Church, which under Franco assumed a prominent role in Spain's social services including hospitals, schools and children's homes.
Nuns and priests compiled waiting lists of would-be adoptive parents, while doctors were said to have lied to mothers about the fate of their children.
The name of one doctor, Dr Eduardo Vela, has come up in a number of victim investigations.
In 1981, Civil Registry sources indicate that 70% of births at Dr Vela's San Ramon clinic in Madrid were registered as "mother unknown".
This was legal under Spanish law, and was meant to protect the anonymity of unmarried mothers. It is alleged that this was also widely used to cover up baby theft and trafficking.
Dr Vela stands accused of telling women their babies had died when they had not and handing over those newborn children to other couples for cash.
Something similar happened during WWII. I can't remember the name and I'm too lazy to google, but the church "helped" save Jewish children from the Nazis by taking them and giving them to Catholic families to raise. They then changed their names, baptized them Catholic, and refused to return them to their non-believer parents if they survived. A large majority of the children were never able to be traced back to their original families. And the man responsible for this was up for sainthood in recent years. He was being called Saint Child-stealer by a lot of people. It seems like there was a book written about what happened to the children but my memory is fuzzy.
BunnyGirl at February 14, 2012 1:44 AM
Don't be glum, people -- Jerry gets to see the grandkids!
http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/13/justice/pennsylvania-sandusky-grandkids/index.html?hpt=us_c2
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at February 14, 2012 4:09 PM
So I don't think saving kids from the holocaust means you're a devil-whether or not you give the kids back eventually. I mean, how would that work for the kids? Sorry-you've been living in relative comfort with this family you love for ___ years, but now you're outta here to god knows what future? Sometimes, esp in war, there are no good situations.
But I don't believe in saints, not the way catholics define them.
And if you're going to say single parents suck for kids, at some point you need to do something about it besides cluck. Not condoning child theivery, but doesn't Amy's general argument mean the kids were better off?
momof4 at February 14, 2012 7:30 PM
I think momof4 kinda nailed it here, as much as it can be nailed. Humans are insanely irrational creatures that have to make decisions with unknowable consequences.
The Holocaust was a wink-wink "nothings happening here" situation that many knew about.
As a bad example, if we started adopting out Afghan children victims of war, and I adopted a child for several years and became emotionally attached, could I send him/her back to Afghanistan if his/her parents were found? My brain says yes, but my heart says "only when they could guarantee him/her a safe and productive life, or he/she is old enough to decide for themself."
Life's a mutha-fucka.
Eric (cannnnnnt sleeeeeeeeep) at February 14, 2012 10:48 PM
A friend of my brother's was adopted. His parents got a phone call in the middle of the night, "Hey, we hear you want to adopt a kid. Do you want to adopt a Honduran kid? We've got one and will speed up the process. You have to decide by tomorrow morning, you can't see the kid before hand."
They went for it, and got this kid. Years later they get another call. Turns out he was one of the El Salvadorean "disappeared" children. His parents were rebels, and he was with his mom at a safe house that turned out not to be very safe. She got killed and he was put in an orphanage.
Anyhow, his grandmother found him. His dad and older siblings were still alive and living in Panama. The dad came up to MA to see him graduate from High School.
Now he still lives in the Boston area, but often visits with his extended birth family. The birth and adoptive families get along great.
I always cry when I think about him (don't laugh!). Because imagine it from the Dad's point of view... your wife gets shot and your kid disappears. Is he dead? Is he adopted into your enemy's family? Is he a street urchin? Has he been sold into sex slavery?
No! He's been living a nice upper-middle-class life near Boston, attending private schools in a liberal area where people are likely to be sympathetic to your cause, being nurtured and taken care of, and when you finally meet he's delighted (though disappointed his mom is dead).
How often does life turn out so lucky?
NicoleK at February 15, 2012 6:33 AM
"How often does life turn out so lucky?"
Often.
You forget we are only shown the exceptions.
Radwaste at February 17, 2012 7:11 AM
Leave a comment