Pope meets with women who decided against abortion, kept children

Published: 2004-08-09

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II met with five women who decided against an abortion and chose to deliver and keep their babies. Before thousands of pilgrims gathered in the courtyard of his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, the pope gave an "affectionate greeting" to "some mothers who refused an abortion and to their children." After the pope's Aug. 8 Angelus prayer, the five women and their toddlers were part of the procession of well-wishers who lined up to greet the pope. The women -- two from Albania and one each from Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Italy -- were part of the "Opera Mater Dei" community in Castel Gandolfo. With the encouragement of the pope, the community was asked by its bishop four years ago to help pregnant, disadvantaged women. While the number of Italian women requesting an abortion has steadily declined over the years, the number of foreign women in Italy requesting the procedure is on the rise.

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