Rachel's Helpers  
 
Is there an abortion in your past?

Are you the mother, father, family member, friend, medical personnel, counselor?

You were certain it was the only answer. You thought: abortion is legal, it must be right. The problem seemed unsolvable. Pressure seemed to come from everywhere, or nowhere. You didn't know where to turn. It seemed
like the sensible thing to do...

As a result: Do you feel a sense of loss? Do You have feelings of despair? Are you suffering from emotional,
physical or spiritual problems? Do you experience alienation and guilt? Do you feel distant from the church?

Where to turn for help: 

Rachel's Helpers invites you to participate in a post-abortion reconciliation program. This program is a
sensitive,private and confidential experience leading to, for Catholics*, the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

You will meet with a specially trained priest who would be sensitive to your particular suffering as he listens
and guides you toward the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Also available to you as part of the Rachel's Helpers
Program is help from specially trained counselors and psychologists. Such counseling, before and /or after the Sacrament of Reconciliation, can help you sort through your feelings and deal with unresolved conflicts.

The Rachel's Helpers Program represents a way for you to receive the healing grace of God as well as official welcoming back to the Church community. It allows you, in a caring and hopeful context, to move toward
reconciliation - with yourself, your unborn child, your family. your church, your God.


* Non-Catholics can also participate in the counseling process and be referred to a minister who will help
   you  in your journey to achieve an inner healing of the abortion experience.


 For more information about Rachel's Helpers or referrals to a priest or counselor, please call our
Contact Number:
                                             718-939-6646     Brooklyn & Queens Excerpt from the Encyclical Letter "Evangelium Vitae"  (The Gospel of Life)

"I would now like to say a special word to women who have had an abortion. The Church is aware of the
many factors which may have influenced your decision, and 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. If you have not already done so, give yourself
over with humility and trust to repentance. The Father of mercies is ready to give you His forgiveness and
His peace in the sacrament of reconciliation.

You will come to understand that nothing is definitely lost and you will also be able to ask forgiveness from
your child, who is now living in the Lord. With the friendly and expert advice of other people, and as a result
of your own painful experience, you can be among the most eloquent defenders of everyone's right to life.

Through your commitment to life, whether by accepting the birth of other children or by welcoming and caring
for those most in need of someone to be close to them, you will become promoters of a new way of looking at
human life."
                                                                                                                                   Pope John Paul II
Suggested Readings:

Saving Women and Infants from Abortion: A Dance in the Rain
Margaret Driscoll and Emily Faugno
Paulist Press (June 2006)

Abortion's Second Victim                                                                                      
Pam Koerbel
AMG Publishers

Forgiven and Set Free
Linda Cochrane
Baker Books

Rachel's Vineyard
Theresa Kaminski Burke, PhD with Barbara Cullen
Society of St. Paul

A Rachel Rosary Intercessory Prayer For Victims of Post Abortion Syndrome
Rev Larry Kupferman
Resurrection Press Ltd  P.O. Box 248   Williston Park, New York 11596

A Way of The Cross For The Bereaved
Rev. Terrence P. Curley
Alba House Publications

Blessing the Child Within  (Prayers for Expectant Mothers)
Kass P. Dotterweich
Liguori Press