Walking with Moms in Need

The Diocese of Fall River Walking with Moms Needs You

With great openness and courage, we need to question how widespread the culture of life is today among individual Christians, families, groups, and communities in our Dioceses. With equal clarity and determination, we must identify the steps we are called to take in order to serve life in all its truth.

EV 95

In honor of the 25th anniversary and in answer to St. John Paul II’s call, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Pro-Life Activities is inviting parishes, through the support of their bishops and pastors, to join a nationwide effort entitled: “Walking with Moms in Need.” We know the challenges can be immense for women in difficult pregnancies, especially women in poverty. According to 2014 statistics from abortion providers, women who chose abortion were poor, young, and unmarried (75% were low income, 60% were in their 20’s, and 86% were unmarried). They came from all cultures and backgrounds (39% were white, 28% were black, 25% were Hispanic, and 6% were Asian or a Pacific Islander). And many of the women who turned to abortion reported a religious affiliation, including a staggering 24% who identified themselves as Catholic (17% were mainline Protestant, 13% were evangelical Protestant, and 8% identified with some other religion).

Pregnant and parenting moms in need are in our parishes and our neighborhoods, but in desperation, they are turning to other places for help. While many pregnancy help resources are appropriately coordinated at the diocesan or regional level, moms in need are often best reached at the local level. With well over 17,000 parishes in the United States, the Church is uniquely positioned to encourage a collaboration of resources at the local level and to increase awareness of help available to mothers and families in need – USCCB.

The program doesn’t ask parishes to become counselors, community centers, or crisis pregnancy resources. Instead, it gives Catholic parishes tools that aid them in becoming reliable connectors to local resources when a pregnant or parenting woman comes to their parish for help. Each parish is asked to have at least one volunteer participate in a training, then complete a survey that captures the services moms in need could access at their parish. This information is then shared on a website of resources that’s available to the public.

Since the “Walking with Moms in Need” initiative launched in 2020, the diocese has directly assisted several moms who have chosen life for their children despite their difficult circumstances.

If you would like to learn how you can help the moms in need in our diocese please contact Irina Robinson at irobinson@dioc-fr.org or call: 508-669-7966 or dledoux@dioc-fr.org or call : 508-774-578-7698.

…Pope Francis has encouraged parishes to become ‘islands of mercy in a sea of indifference’ and Walking with Moms in Need is an effort to do just that.