Chile probing reports that priest stole babies for adoption

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile's child welfare service is investigating reports that a Catholic priest was involved in giving babies up for adoption in the 1970s and 1980s without their parents' knowledge, telling the biological mothers that their child had died.

Chilean investigative journalism centre Ciper published a report last month saying that an unknown number of babies who were born to unmarried mothers were illegally given to other families. In some cases, the women were persuaded it was the best choice for them, but in others they were told the baby had died soon after childbirth, the report said.