Pro-choice priest: how Christians can support those who need abortions

“To me, it seems very basic. It’s not controversial and not something I second guess,” says Episcopalian priest Broderick Greer, about why he is pro-choice.

“If someone approaches me with this very complex problem about their future and their body, it is not time for me to shove ideological arguments in their face. It’s time for me to listen,” he told Róisín Ingle, on the latest episode of The Women’s Podcast.

Based in Memphis, Tennessee, Reverend Greer, has a flock who are mostly in their twenties and their thirties. He preaches about subjects that matter to them – race, sexuality and human rights. He is on Twitter, he loves Beyoncé and he recently wrote an article for Teen Vogue magazine. In that article he said the Christian approach to those who seek abortions is to say: 'I love you, I trust you'.

His stance on abortion has seen his inbox fill up with quite a bit of hate mail from who he calls “fundamentalist Christians” accusing him of advocating for murder.

To them, he says the reality is that people will seek abortions whether it is illegal to do so, or not. By choosing to support those people instead of demonising them, “we create an environment that is safe and healthy so that if you are afraid of lives being lost, then we are losing the least amount of lives possible.”

While his views are not typical of his religion, Reverend Greer believes there are many other members of the clergy who feel the same way and that they will begin to speak out more at a time when access to reproductive healthcare in the US is coming under increasing threat.

Last year Pope Francis extended forgiveness to women who have had abortions as part of the Catholic Church’s Year of Mercy. Greer said while it marked a positive step forward for the church, it is not those who have had abortions who need to be forgiven, but all religions should acknowledge the trauma they have caused women.

“People internalise that guilt and shame, and the church for much of history has caused this. So not only should the church be extending forgiveness and mercy, we should be seeking out the mercy and forgiveness of those we’ve hurt,” he said.

Also on the podcast, Broderick Greer spoke about his fundamentalist religious upbringing, how his sexuality shaped his Christianity and why no person who says that they are ‘pro-life’ can say that they are also a feminist.

To listen to the full conversation with Róisín Ingle, you can get the latest episode of The Women’s Podcast on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher and irishtimes.com/podcasts

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