By Gretchen R. Crowe
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 1/13/05)

Vicki Thorn’s words were soothing, yet serious. Her face was composed, but her voice still shook slightly when she read letters from the women and men — girls and boys — affected by abortion.

Thorn gave her pro-life talk at an assembly last week at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington. As founder and executive director of the National Office of Post-abortion Reconciliation and Healing, Thorn was applauded by students as she was introduced and surrounded by them when she was finished.

"I have promised many women that I have talked to over the years that if I got an opportunity to speak to high school students that I would," Thorn said, explaining that when she was 18, her 16-year-old friend, who had already given up one child to adoption, had an abortion that forever touched both of their lives.

"My friend struggled with that pain for the rest of her life," Thorn said. "She said, ‘I can live with the adoption. I can’t live with the abortion.’"

Because of that event, Thorn devoted her life to helping those affected by abortion. She is trained in spirituality, psychology and pre-natal loss facilitation; she has received numerous awards, including the Vatican II award for service to society in 2001. She has spoken in Washington, Maryland and Northern Virginia, sharing what Father Michael Taylor, chaplain and assistant principal, called a "tremendous message of both mercy and healing."

Thorn gave the students real, honest tips about taking care of women who have had abortions. She spoke to the young people not superficially or guardedly, but candidly, clearly proving her understanding that these students are the ones making powerful decisions.

"Fifty percent of people are pregnant within the first six months of having sex," she said. "If you’re going to choose sex, you need to know that you’re mature enough to be a parent."

Saying that their generation is overwhelmingly pro-life, Thorn told the students in the auditorium that they will be leaders of that cause. "God is calling you to be ambassadors of healing," she said.

Thorn encouraged the students to go to the March for Life on Jan. 24 in Washington. "We are on the cusp of God doing something huge," she said. "You all need to be part of this."

While the students were undoubtedly glad to take a break from classes for this assembly, they showed genuine teenage interest in Thorn’s presentation — giggling when she talked about sex and sitting silently when she told several stories. The stories were often very personal — of mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews who have all been affected by the loss of a family member to abortion.

But, she said, "there’s help available everywhere."

Thorn stressed the importance of healing and told the students they should be present to those who have had abortions. "Listen to them and love them," she said.

"God wants people who have been touched by abortion to be healed because they are the ones who are going to set our country free," she said. "They know the truth."

Project Rachel, the post-abortion ministry in the Arlington Diocese, is available for post-abortion counseling and can act as a path to healing.

"Project Rachel is a ministry that invokes the sacrament of reconciliation with a team of caregivers," Thorn said. "This is God’s answer — loving people back to wholeness one person at a time.

"The gift of project Rachel is that God heals all people," she said. "We need to invite people, not turn them away. It’s my hope that having heard this today that you have a new awareness about how much God loves you. He loves each of us as if there was only one of us."