IRELAND’S Children’s Minister Katherine Zappone has told the Pope that the Catholic Church should “contribute substantially” to any reparation to the families of babies in a mass grave at Tuam, County Galway.

Between 1925 and 1961 about 800 infants were buried in a septic tank at a home for unmarried mothers run by the Bon Secours religious order. Their bodies were uncovered in 2015 after investigations raised suspicion that there might be human remains at the site.

Ms Zappone said in a letter she handed to Pope Francis at the weekend and which was made public today that the church should “contribute subtantially to the cost of whatever option is decided by the government. This should be done willingly, unconditionally and quickly.”

The cost might include compensation, but complete excavation of the site and DNA analysis of the remains are the government’s priority.

“There was little compassion shown to children and their mothers in this home,” she said.

“We cannot change what happened to them. For the little ones whose remains are in a sewage system, we owe them dignity in death.

“For their mothers, siblings and families we need to give them some peace.”

On Sunday in a protest at Tuam to coincide with the papal visit, activists lay tiny shoes and displayed placards with the names of children who died at the home.

Though the Tuam home closed in 1961, the order continues to run a private healthcare firm called Bon Secours Health System Ltd, which paid Bon Secours Sisters Ireland €43.5 million (£39.3m) between 2007 and 2017 in building leases and loan interest.