At the foot of the Schönstatt sanctuary in Santiago de Chile, in 1999, the Project Hopea pastoral accompaniment program for the emotional and spiritual healing of people wounded by abortion.
25 years after its foundation, thanks in part to the support of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), this project is present in 80% of the countries of Latin America.
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The coordinator of the project in Argentina, Ana Salgado de Levermann, told ACI Prensa the details of this beautiful initiative that helps heal women and men who, after having aborted their children, “do not feel worthy of God’s forgiveness or to be happy.” ”.
“When you think that approximately 60 million abortions are performed in the world a year, you realize not only how many have died, but also the 120 million injured parents, plus others involved who suffer from this scourge of post-abortion trauma,” Indian.
“It is their children who bring them closer to God”
In this path of healing, said Ana Salgado, “faith plays an important role.” Although “people of any faith can be accompanied, spiritual healing would not be achieved in the same way. Faith gives you a plus“, accurate.
Likewise, he noted that he has not seen “people who throughout the accompaniment have not approached God.”
“They have previously been aware of ‘a creator’ in front of whom they have felt guilt, fear or questioned, and that is why they distanced themselves. But this changes radically when they come closer to the knowledge of a Merciful God who loves them unconditionally. A God who always forgives; a God who has a place reserved for everyone next to Him.”
Thanks to this project, parents know that “their children are in the presence of the Lord, and approaching them is also approaching God. It is striking to see that it is their children who bring them closer to God,” he remarked.
The pain of that which has no return
Salgado expressed that “the wound of abortion passes through people in all areas of their lives.” The main consequences that appear are depression, “a great emptiness, guilt and remorse.”
This leads to loss of impulse control, difficulties in establishing good relationships and even “alterations in sleep, eating and sexuality.”
Salgado also listed other consequences such as “self-destructive behaviors that lead them to perform more abortions, abuse substances and even attempt suicide.”
In this “distressing” torment, the expert said, they may even have auditory or visual illusions with the impression of seeing and hearing babies, something that “can happen to both women and men.”
“It is the pain of that which has no return,” he said, caused by a decision that is often made “in a moment of great desperation.” However, he stressed that “his desire is to end with a problem, not with a child; and then they run into a problem they don’t know how to deal with.”
Among the causes that lead them to abort, he highlighted that it is often because they are “in a state of desperation, due to their age, lack of confidence in themselves, thinking that they will not have the support of their family.” , due to lack of real support from whoever was the father of this baby”, due to infidelity and “very, very rarely due to an economic issue”.
In short, “their humanity is wounded, there is a wound in their own nature” that leads them to lose the meaning of their life.
He also highlighted that sometimes these manifestations go unnoticed for years and are not realized until “this pain that was buried is lifted”, sometimes even at the age of 80, although they become increasingly aware when they are younger. That’s when they come looking for help.
A silenced suffering
In a simple way, through the pamphlets that are often displayed in parishes or handed out in confessionals, many people come to Project Esperanza. They also do it through website, where some of the testimonials “It touches them because it reflects their own pain.”
Through this project, those who suffer from the wound of abortion are assigned a “companion” individually, free of charge and confidentially, inviting them to follow a “healing path.”
These are weekly meetings for 4 months, “although there are situations where it can be extended for close to a year, depending on the wounds and circumstances experienced by each person.”
“Accompanying a person involves creating a climate of absolute trust, respect and empathy. A place where you can feel loved, valued, and understood, remembering that we approach your intimacy, the most sacred: your soul. We are ‘stepping on sacred ground’ and that is done with a reverential attitude,” said Ana Salgado.
It is then when the person can “dive” freely into “those dark areas that are so difficult to see or remember… That are scary or embarrassing, but knowing that they do so accompanied by someone who will help them see it under the merciful gaze of the One who He loves her just the way she is. “He who knows our weaknesses, our weaknesses, but who loves us and knows that we are much more than that bad action.”
She exclaimed that “no one wants to hear that abortion has left them so many wounds,” so in general “they are silenced people” with a pain that is experienced “in absolute solitude,” the Argentine told ACI Prensa.
Humanize the child to find forgiveness
The grief, indicated Ana Salgado, begins to be resolved during the accompaniment, “humanizing this son and giving him an identity. Only then will you be able to mourn him and put him back together emotionally,” he added.
“Just the fact of being able to talk about it while feeling heard and not judged is healing,” she added. He also stressed the importance of recognizing its consequences in order to “be able to face them and get closer to God’s forgiveness,” thus forgiving themselves and “turning the pain that depresses into a pain that redeems.”
“Only after you have gone through these steps will you be able to bond with this son. When you give your child an identity, you regain your identity as a mother or father. They will be able, now, to deliver this son into the hands of the Father, knowing that through Him they will remain united.”
For the project coordinator, these people “recover their dignity under the gaze of Jesus, find their mission and rediscover a new meaning in their lives,” most of the time becoming “true and committed defenders of life.”
The man, the great ignored
Ana Salgado lamented that generally “the man is the one who is largely ignored, the excluded one who has neither a voice nor a vote nor can he claim paternity,” since even if he claimed it and took care of his son, “the decision is up to she”.
“He also suffers a lot,” although sometimes it seems as if “the suffering from the loss of a child was only the woman’s,” he pointed out.
“Healing is possible”
With a wealth of experience behind her and having heard, as she is sure, “thousands” of testimonies, she affirms that healing is possible, giving new meaning to their lives, going through a path of acceptance and forgiveness. “By healing their memory and embracing their dark areas, they can give God ‘what we are’ so that He can transform it.”
To do this, the first and essential thing is empathetic listening, “as Jesus did with the disciples of Emmaus.” Then, “illuminating them with the voice of the Lord, which is all hope.”
“Broadening their horizon and giving new meaning to this pain, showing the resurrection after the cross. Seeking to make their hearts burn again as they recognize that Jesus walks by our side.”
“Abortion is a million-dollar business”
Salgado warned that abortion is “a million-dollar business and these voices make people uncomfortable; then they refuse and attempts are made to numb consciences. “How are they going to say that they suffer for having made use of a supposed ‘reproductive right’?” he asked.
Ana’s message for those considering abortion is clear: “It is important that you quickly connect with your motherhood: with an ultrasound, monitoring… talk to them about your child.”
“Anything when it helps her humanize this son and connects her with him. It is important that she feels confident in herself to function as a mother, and that she finds a support network.”
He regretted in this sense that it is common to hear: “I didn’t know this was like this, no one told me that this was going to happen to me.”
On the other hand, to those who have already had an abortion and are suffering because of it, “I would let them know that there is a space for healing.”
“That it is possible to overcome this pain and it is worth taking courage to go through a process that will take them out of the pit they are in, restore their peace and help strengthen them to project a new life full of hope,” he concluded.
Almudena Martínez-Bordiú
I am a graduate in Journalism and Advertising from the CEU San Pablo University in Madrid. Specialized in religious information in Spain since 2015. I have been a senior correspondent for ACI Prensa and EWTN Noticias in the Vatican for two years and I am currently a European correspondent based in Spain.