Silence Versus Voice: The Parish and Abortion

This chapter examines abortion from the perspective of the parish, focusing on how Church teaching about abortion was communicated. We begin with how priests framed their messaging about abortion in formal preaching contexts. We note an ambivalence among many regarding directly broaching the topic of abortion. Parishioner perspectives consolidate these findings, with many feeling that abortion was not necessarily openly addressed. We then examine the more fluid and dynamic processes surrounding informal parish culture, such as leaflets at the back of the church, and the role that individuals who were motivated to be anti-abortion activists had on a parish culture. This chapter therefore identifies various contradictory trends: abortion as a highly silenced matter within a parish, alongside heightened vocalism about abortion. This chapter will unpick these contradictions to understand the framing of abortion in terms of stigma, discourse and power.