"Esperanza" is the Spanish word for hope. "Esperanza" is also the name of the Catholic pregnancy counseling service of the Archdiocese of Cologne, which wants to give new hope to unintentionally pregnant women. Catholic pregnancy counseling in the archdiocese of Cologne has now been in existence for 30 years.
"Esperanza" is the Spanish word for hope. "Esperanza" is also the name of the Catholic pregnancy counseling service of the Archdiocese of Cologne, which wants to give new hope to unintentionally pregnant women. Catholic pregnancy counseling in the archdiocese of Cologne has been in existence for 30 years. The work of the counseling center was also honored by the government of North Rhine-Westphalia at a ceremony. At the anniversary celebration in Cologne, Beate Wieland, head of department at the Ministry of Family Affairs, described the 20 counseling centers as "important points of contact for families".
No pass to abortionu She said demand from women in need has hardly diminished since counseling vouchers are no longer ied there. "The counselors not infrequently ensure a reasonably smooth start to life with a child," Wieland said. She emphasized that Catholic counseling is "by far the largest provider" in North Rhine-Westphalia.Cardinal Joachim Meisner thanked the nearly 60 counselors for their commitment to the protection of unborn life. "I know of no higher task than to struggle with fathers and mothers to have a child," he stressed. The task is still relevant because the abortion rate has not decreased. The chairman of the diocesan Caritas Association, Provost Norbert Feldhoff, emphasized that "esperanza" had been deliberately exempted from diocesan cost-cutting measures. The archbishop's aid fund has been increased. Feldhoff complained that the idea of protecting life has only reached the population to a limited extent. Many see a pregnancy conflict as an "alternative decision-making situation". The counseling certificate thus becomes a "pass to abortion".
"Do not obscure testimony for the protection of life" Feldhoff emphasized that the Catholic Church "backed out" of legally mandated conflict counseling in 2000 out of concern that it would "obscure" its witness to the protection of life. This "noticeable break" has proven to be an opportunity to "enormously expand" the concrete help for families in need. Today, this includes counseling for fathers as well as for couples who have come into conflict as a result of prenatal diagnostics.Since 1976, the counselors in the Archdiocese of Cologne have provided counseling to some 120.000 pregnant women advised. In the first year there were 211 women, and last year more than 7.000. They received a total of 17 million euros from the Bishops' Fund, and about 55 million euros from the Federal Foundation Mother and Child since 1984. Recently, following a ruling by the Federal Administrative Court, the centers have again been receiving state subsidies.The offer includes help for mothers and fathers in psychological, social and financial distress and in the context of prenatal diagnostics. The facilities offer sex education in schools and youth groups, help from family midwives, group work with single parents and teenage mothers, babysitting services, encounter cafes and parent-child groups. Caritas, the Social Service of Catholic Women and the Social Service of Catholic Women and Men are the responsible bodies. Since 2000, on the instructions of the pope, they no longer ie counseling certificates, because these authorize the performance of an abortion. A few years ago, they gave themselves the umbrella name "esperanza" (hope) in the archdiocese.(kna)