Alejandra Correa, The Pastoral Call for Post-Abortion Healing and Reconciliation in the U.S.
In the United States (US) alone there are well over 1. 6 million abortions performed per year. The rampant rise of on-demand abortion since its US legalization in 1973 has destroyed well over 20 to 40 million lives since then.1 An ever increasing part of society is touched in some way by abortion and is left to deal with the consequences alone. Although in the US abortion is seen as a choice or a right there is more evidence today that "the emotional aftereffects of elective abortion remain underreported, underestimated, and there remediation undervalued."2
In response to this urgent situation, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), just two years after the legalization, gave a directive call of the US Catholic Church (USCC) to respond to this urgent situation. The call was to not only defend the rights of the unborn but to also bring healing and reconciliation to the ever increasing numbers of aborted women. This thesis will answer the question of how this call has become a vital response to the new evangelization of today.
But in order to answer this question we must review the many angles of abortion in America today. Herein I would like to present the reader with a brief chronological view of abortion in the US that will finally lead us to post-abortion reality. I will begin by looking at the legalization of abortion in America and its direct consequences. We will see how despite major pro-life efforts on behalf of the USCC, choice still prevails. At this point I will switch the perspective from abortion to post-abortion. I will present post-abortion reality as a key that may help to change the convictions of Americans today.
Chapter two will provide the reader with evidence of how the continuous plea of the USCCB to provide healing and reconciliation helped to spur research efforts on what is known as post-abortion syndrome (PAS). I will briefly introduce a history of post-abortion research and development and then quickly turn to the core of the chapter which examines the reality of PAS. After this I will briefly present some of the social and moral issues that are obstacles to PAS exposure. The study of PAS will help the reader to better understand the need for healing and reconciliation.
The overall study of PAS in chapter two will bring us to the threshold of chapter three. Here I will look at the concrete ways in which healing and reconciliation have been possible through the USCC. We will examine Project Rachel (PR) an apostolic ministry of healing and reconciliation. We will see how PR has been able to successfully heal and evangelize many aborted women. This chapter will look at the specific ways in which PR works with priests and counselors and how it helps to bring aborted women to sacramental reconciliation. I will end by posing the question: is not PR a form of new evangelization?
Hence chapter four will examine new evangelization. First I will begin with a brief history of the renewed mission of the Church as an evangelizer. Beginning with the Second Vatican Council I will then precede through to two other major documents on evangelization, Evangelii Nuntiandi and Redemptoris Missio. This will allow the reader to better understand what new evangelization is. Next we will briefly look at new evangelization within the context of the US and its present challenges. This will help us to define how PR is serving as an evangelizer in the US today. Finally we will briefly review some of the major challenges of evangelization through PR. I will end with a tangible proposal to help make PR more of a missionary effort within the Church.
Before beginning I would like to define some terms used throughout this paper as well as some necessary demographic information. Because of all the different studies cited I would like to make clear a series of terms that are used to define essentially the same thing. Since there has been no official acceptance of post-abortion syndrome the terms used may vary but the definitions are consistent. "Post-abortion aftermath", "post-abortion trauma", "post-abortion syndrome", "post-abortion reality", are all terms referring to the same definition found in chapter two. Also the term "abortion" used throughout refers to "procured", "induced", "permissive" or "voluntary" abortion. This is opposed to what is known as "involuntary abortion" which refers to "miscarriage."
Another term that I will frequently use is "aborted woman", which simply refers to a woman who has had an abortion. Although abortion affects family, friends, and all those involved in the experience directly or indirectly, my thesis will focus strictly on women and in Chapter three more specifically Catholic women in the US. Also when referring to America please note that the referral is specifically the United States of America and no country outside of this territory.
Copyright © 2007 Alejandra Correa
Alejandra Correa. «The Pastoral Call for Post-Abortion Healing and Reconciliation in the U.S. A Vital Response to Today's New Evangelization. Introduction». vita9.org [in linea], anno 1 (2007) [inserito il 1º aprile 2007], disponibile su World Wide Web: <http://vita9.org/>, [6 KB].