This video really struck a cord in me, because for years I taught 7th grade CCD in my parish. One of the topics I had to cover each year with these 12-13 year old children was the Church's position on abortion.
What always struck me was that not a single child in my 7th grade CCD classes had EVER heard of abortion. A few of them asked me a few times "what do you call it again?" the very word was foreign to them. As clear as if it was yesterday I can see the stunned and disbelieving looks on their faces. As if they were waiting for me to say "Gotcha! Just kidding!".
Abortion. Murdering children in the womb. Pregnant mothers paying someone to kill their baby before its born.
They were rightly horrified.
They had no idea what it was. I always struggled with terrible guilt at being the one to take away that innocence. They walked into my classroom completely unaware that people murdered children in the womb and they walked out knowing mothers kill their babies if they don't want them.
I think the boys were more horrified than the girls- at least they were more vocal about it and voiced their absolute disgust at such a thing.
No parent ever asked me about it. I don't know if they even paid attention to what the weekly topics were- its all there in the CCD books what topics would be discussed each week. I didn't get to pick the topics, I just had to teach what the Church taught on them.
I often wondered if any of the children mentioned it to their parents and what response they received. Did their parents contradict what I had just taught about abortion being mortal sin? Being from a rather liberal leaning New England parish, I can imagine some of the parents probably support the "right" to abortion- I know they support birth control- they've told me as much.
As disturbed as I always was at having to tell these innocent kids people kill children in the womb, I found small comfort in knowing that at least I was teaching them what the Church taught and why. That their first introduction wasn't "its just a blob of tissue, its not really a baby", but rather it IS a baby, who started out just like them, that the baby had a right to grow up and have a life and that its a terrible mortal sin to kill a child in or out of the womb.
How I hated being the one to take that innocence from them. Still haunts me today and don't currently teach CCD.
I wonder if any of them thought of that class when they got older...if any of them were faced with an unwanted pregnancy and if that class made a difference in the choice they might have faced?
I hope and pray so.
In Christ,
Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner
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