NEW YORK -- Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, and Janet Morana, Executive Director, will travel to Rome this week for various meetings at the Vatican, and to teach a class on “Healing the Shockwaves of Abortion” at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum during its 15th annual International Bioethics Summer Course. 

 

Regina Apostolorum is one of the pontifical universities established by and operated directly under the authority of the Vatican. 

 

Healing the Shockwaves of Abortion is an initiative of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign that aims to raise awareness of all the different groups of people impacted by abortion.

 

“Every abortion is an explosive event in the lives of the mother and father and those closely connected to that decision,” said Father Pavone. “But the shockwaves deeply touch all those who are part of abortion decisions and procedures -- grandparents, siblings, extended families, friends, pro-life advocates, and even abortion providers and clinic workers. The heartache and remorse felt by these people reaches deeply into our society -- our schools, our health care and legal systems, our economy and our communities.”

 

Mrs. Morana noted that this year, the theme of the bioethics course is “Family, Education and Society,” and the message of Shockwaves dovetails precisely with this focus.

 

“Abortion leaves an indelible mark on the family,” she said. “But what we try to do with Shockwaves is to show how healing is available for anyone who has taken part in or been impacted by the death of a child.”

 

Father Pavone added, “This really is a wound for the whole family and healing has to be for the whole family.”

The Shockwaves campaign was launched in January 2015 at the March for Life in Washington, D.C. For the first time ever, a former abortionist and former clinic workers marched alongside the women and men who chose abortion and later regretted it.

 

“Abortion is not an American anomaly,” Mrs. Morana said. “Children are being killed all over the world and their families and communities are being impacted. Our hope is that this international class of students will bring the message of Shockwaves home with them.”

 

Those who minister to individuals and families will gain insight into how abortion grief affects those with whom they work, Father Pavone said. “An awareness of the Shockwaves will help them in their ministry.”

 

While in Rome, Father Pavone and Mrs. Morana will connect with Priests for Life staff at their Rome office, and will meet with Vatican officials involved in pro-life work, including Cardinal Elio Sgreccia, president emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life and an architect of St. Pope John Paul’s 1995 encyclical “Evangelium Vitae” – the Gospel of Life.

 

“Cardinal Sgreccia is one of the key voices in the Church for pro-life,” Father Pavone said. 

 

Meetings also are planned with Rome-based media outlets, Father Pavone said. “Priests for Life continues to collaborate with these outlets to disseminate pro-life news and commentary to an international audience.”

 

 

Priests for Life is the nation's largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.

 

 

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