Was Mary really free from Original Sin?

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Weren’t Adam and Eve created sinless but didn’t stay that way?

Yes.

What about “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”? (Rom. 3.23)

Wouldn’t this apply to Mary, as part of the “all”?

No, there are many exceptions to this. We don’t hold babies and children below the age of reason responsible for sin, or the developmentally disabled.

Paul is saying that both Jews and Gentiles have sinned, and that the Jews are no better off. In fact, if you read the psalm from which that was taken, he goes on to contrast them with the “righteous”.

Mary was created like Eve, free of sin, but she chose not to sin.