
Protecting and nurturing the gift of life at Elizabeth House
The sanctity of the gift of life was a major point of focus throughout Archbishop Murphy’s priestly ministry. This was most evident when it came to the issue of abortion. He felt that the church needed to provide more than just moral rhetoric. Concrete action was required. The archbishop, through Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, laid the groundwork for Elizabeth House – a facility where expectant teenage mothers could live, deliver a healthy baby, complete their high school education, have access to job training programs and receive assistance in securing permanent housing.
Archbishop Murphy offered the following thought at the event announcing Elizabeth House, “We wanted to help the whole process of giving birth. The real purpose of this is to break the cycle that brought them here in the first place.”