Diocesan Resources
Project Rachel: In the Heart of the Church (2007)
Project Rachel: In the Heart of the Church
Offered in almost all the Catholic dioceses throughout the United States, Project Rachel is a network of caregivers, including priests, mental health professionals and others who provide one-on-one care to those struggling after involvement in an abortion. Project Rachel may include other resources such as various retreat models, support groups, Bible studies, journaling exercises and prayer efforts, but it is primarily a healing network connecting those in need with counseling and with the sacraments, right in the heart of the Church.
We do not know how many millions upon millions of abortions have really occurred because abortion statistics, both legal and illegal since the Depression, have never been accurately tallied. In 1998 the Alan Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood’s research arm, stated that “43 percent of women in America will have at least one abortion by age 45.” This is a staggering percentage of American women. And it is important to remember that for every abortion there is also a father and an extended family including grandparents, siblings of the parents and of the lost child, and a friendship circle. Anyone in this circle may seek help.