Virginia priest starts homes for unwed mothers

Published: 2007-10-08

ARLINGTON, Va. (CNS) -- Providing homes for unwed mothers is a necessary outreach for the pro-life movement, said Father Stefan Starzynski, a priest of the Arlington Diocese who has started two homes for unwed mothers. He feels it is only a matter of time before Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, will be overturned and the pro-life movement needs to be ready to respond to pregnant women who need a safe haven. "We have done the marches, we have held the banners, this is absolutely the next step," added the priest, who is parochial vicar at St. Mary of Sorrows Parish in Fairfax. Last year Father Starzynski opened the Paul Stefan Home for Unwed Mothers, which is named for a baby born without lungs who survived for one hour. So far, nine women have stayed in the home and six babies have been born. Currently, the home has three residents. By the end of this year, another house will open on the same 50-acre property in Orange County. Currently, about 37 percent of all babies born in the U.S. are born to unwed mothers, he noted.

Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .