Project Rachel
Healing Following an Abortion

A Loving, Forgiving Church

Without a doubt, abortion is one of the most traumatic experiences a person can have.

Both before and after abortion, feelings of fear, anxiety, guilt, panic and pressure are common - not only for the one who undergoes the abortion, but also for the father of the unborn child, the grandparents, close friends, even medical personnel.

For Catholics, the pain of abortion is intensified by a sense of alienation from God and Church.

If you are in this position, we want you to know that your Church understands and cares. We are a loving and forgiving Church, reaching out to you in compassion and concern.

Above all, we want to help you through the healing process and so we invite you to participate in Project Rachel, a post-abortion reconciliation program. Many priests and counselors have received training to minister to you and enable you to receive the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

Project Rachel is named for the Old Testament figure who wept inconsolably over the loss of her child. it is sponsored by the Office of Family Life of the Catholic Diocese of Orange.

What you Can Expect

Project Rachel, like the Sacrament it includes, is a sensitive, private, confidential experience. If you wish you can be put in touch with a priest and counselor outside your home community.

The experience will focus on preparations for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Generally it will include counseling prayer and scripture.

Specially trained priests and counselors are available to you. Such counseling, before and/or after the Sacrament of Reconciliation, can help you sort through your feelings and deal with unresolved conflicts. If you have already received the Sacrament after abortion but still feel burdened, Project Rachel's counselors can also help.

Project Rachel represents a concrete way for you to receive the healing grace of God and the church's official forgiveness for abortion. It allows you, in a caring and hopeful context to move toward reconciliation - with yourself, your unborn child, your family, your Church and your God.

How to Begin

To initiate your participation in Project Rachel, you are asked to call the confidential HOTLINE:

1-800-RACHEL-6
(1-800-722-4356)

You will be asked only to give your first name and a time and phone number where a priest or counselor can call you to set up your first meeting. All conversations are completely confidential. Project Rachel will put you in contact with someone in your area who has completed Project Rachel training. (All priests of the Diocese of Orange have general faculties to administer the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation following abortion.)

Wipe your tears from your eyes. The sorrow you have shown shall have its reward there is hope for your future.

- JEREMIAH 31:17