Philomena is a distortion of the truth

The movie effectively blames the nuns for matters that were either beyond their control or that ought to have been the responsibility of the Irish State. The Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary are on record as saying that "the film, even though it is not a documentary, does not tell the whole truth and in many ways is very misleading". They are particularly concerned over the film's depiction of their nuns as obstructing Philomena Lee's and her son's efforts to locate each other, its insinuation that records were burnt and that a fee was paid to the order by the adopting family in the US. All of the congregation's records were handed over to Irelands Health Service Executive (HSE) two years ago.

Irish law has been based on a closed system of adoption that places more emphasis on confidentiality than on reuniting the parties of an adoption. Further, according to the lobby group Adoption Rights Alliance "Currently in Ireland, adopted people do not have an automatic statutory right to their birth certificates. It is possible to apply to the Adoption Authority (AAI), however the AAI and accredited bodies insist upon seeking the permission of natural mothers before releasing birth certificates." The bottom line is that there were legal constraints on the information the nuns could provide to relinquishing mothers or adoptive children. The nuns should not be blamed for this.

It is difficult to be certain about the truth of other matters raised by the movie. In regard to the nuns charging large fees or "selling babies", this would both have been illegal and highly unlikely. Catholic mores meant that money ranked a distant second to placing children with good Catholic families. It is, however, widely believed that "voluntary" donations were generally expected from adopting parents, and Americans would have been better placed in this respect.

Donations were a major means of funding mother and child homes, which received only a pittance from the Irish State in the 1950s. In this context the girls also did chores in return for their keep but they were not indentured or forced labour. It should be noted that even though Philomena was assigned work in the convent laundry, the convent did only its own laundry and most of the other girls did other chores such as cleaning or gardening. Sean Ross definitely was not a "Magdalene laundry", as alleged by many reviewers, and the girls routinely departed within a few weeks of their children being adopted.

A key issue with the movie was summed up in a review by the Guardian newspaper: "Philomena is something yearned for and lusted after by film-makers and journalists alike – a really good story. It's a powerful and heartfelt drama, based on a real case, with a sledgehammer emotional punch". My take on the movie is that, while the core story was indeed good, it is a pity that, for commercial reasons, the producers have sought to embellish it. Its viewers were left unaware of the exaggerations and many have ended up forming falsely-based or exaggerated opinions.