By Anne DiBernardo - Florida Catholic
MIAMI | Addiction, depression, suicidal thoughts, and even physical illness are some of the manifestations of a type of post-traumatic stress disorder known as post-abortion syndrome. The month the baby would have been born, and the date of the abortion, this type PTSD can be particularly overwhelming.
Because the abortion experience is usually cloaked in silence and feelings of numbness, conflicting emotions both during and after the event may remain unresolved.
To help women and their families cope with this loss, the Archdiocese of Miami offers two post-abortive healing programs. Project Rachel and Rachel’s Vineyard provide participants the opportunity to acknowledge any unresolved emotions by reflecting on their abortion experience and identifying ways the loss has affected them.
The programs are open to any woman, man, couple or family struggling with the emotional and spiritual pain of abortion. Both programs are confidential, safe, and non-judgmental and permit participants to gently explore those hidden burdens and experience the mercy and healing of God.
Project Rachel counseling sessions are one-on-one with a trained advisor over a course of at least nine weeks and typically last one hour, whereas Rachel’s Vineyard is a weekend retreat. Project Rachel is promoted in church bulletins. Many learn about the program through a women’s Emmaus Retreat. In fact, a new idea which is being implemented throughout the archdiocese is placing Project Rachel brochures in bathroom stalls.
“Because of the shame associated with being post abortive, it is a good way to promote the program without the individual feeling like somebody is watching,” said Barbara Groeber, retired educational coordinator for the Respect Life Office and facilitator for the Project Rachel program at the South Broward Pregnancy Help Center.
“We don’t advertise Rachel’s Vineyard, because ideally we would like them to go to Project Rachel first,” she said.
Once they do, they are ready for the group retreat and can contact their personal Project Rachel counselor, to maintain confidentiality.
Having a priest on the retreat makes a big difference for the participants, said Kathy Weissinger, director of the South Dade Pregnancy Help Center, who also coordinates Rachel’s Vineyard and facilitates Project Rachel.
“We always have a time set aside for confession and I try to have a priest with us during the whole weekend,” said Weissinger.
Groebar said believing that their sin is unforgivable is the biggest stumbling block for women who have had abortions. “The Project Rachel message is that there is no such thing, which is the message of the Church, but people don’t hear that if they are not going to church. When a post-abortive woman goes through both programs, she will feel a sense of excitement,” Groeber said.
A TESTIMONY
“I felt the forgiveness of God and my son, and I began to forgive myself,” said a Project Rachel and Rachel’s Vineyard participant, who went on the retreat many years after her Project Rachel counseling.
“I had an amazing experience. It was so freeing,” she said, adding that she never really thought she needed to attend a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat until she heard a speaker at a Respect Life luncheon.
“Someone who was sitting at my table came over to me, held my hand, and said, ‘Call Kathy.’ By God’s grace, I got into Rachel’s Vineyard in record time. They took us through so many stages, which are all biblically based, but it provided a tremendous amount of closure. When I came home, immediately I wrote a letter to the facilitators to thank them for the experience.”
She recalled that many of the women who attended were skeptical, embarrassed, and even a little defensive. Some were quiet and reserved. But as the weekend went on, everyone began to bond.
“When they leave on Sunday, they feel so married to Jesus and have so much closure about the abortion,” said the participant, noting that many who attended had multiple abortions, and many had husbands there. “There is something very deep that goes on this weekend. When I went into Project Rachel, I grieved but I knew there was more healing to be done. The wound really gets healed at that retreat. To not tap into those emotions and sweep them under the rug is very damaging. I believe I suppressed my immune system by carrying this burden alone all these years.”
FIND OUT MORE
To learn more contact Project Rachel at 954-981-2984 (local) or 888-456-4673 (toll free).
- Anyone who has attended Project Rachel may contact their counselor to learn more about attending one of the two Rachel’s Vineyard retreats held each year in English.
- The retreats accommodate a maximum of 12 participants, and plans are in the works to offer a retreat in Spanish in 2020.
WORDS OF POPE JOHN PAUL II
Pope John Paul II understood the depth of pain caused by abortion. Here’s an excerpt from his 1995 Encyclical,Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), where he encourages post-abortive women to take heart:
“The Church is aware of the many factors which may have influenced your decision, and she does not doubt that in many cases it was a painful and even shattering decision. The wound in your heart may not yet have healed. Certainly, what happened was and remains terribly wrong. But do not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly.”
