text: Surely the stigma of illegitimacy, and the notion that unwed mothers were immoral mortal sinners, was a direct result of catholic doctrine in this quasi-theocracy? These so-called illegitimate children were also perceived as a drain on precious resources ... rather than the Imago Dei! I take your point, but I think that the hierarchs were the driving force behind the teachings that led to these "solutions" for the unwed mothers ... the weight of responsibility must ultimately rest with the most awesomely powerful moral arbiters, the princes and bishops of Ireland's catholic church.