In 1960, only about 5 percent of births were to unmarried women, consistent with the two previous decades. But then the percentage began to rise at an astonishing pace, doubling by the early 1970s and nearly doubling again over the next decade. A cascade of criticism blamed welfare for this trend. According to this narrative, supporting unwed mothers with public dollars made them more likely to trade in a husband for the dole. Once again, no credible social scientist has ever found evidence that the sharp rise in nonmarital childbearing was driven by welfare.
This was a huge sin of the Church.
