(continued)
As a preacher and instructor in homiletics I found that my world touched the world of those privileged people of the Gospel, the ones that Jesus was attacked for eating with - sinners and outcasts.
First, I realized that my need to experience the fullness of the Gospel would be met by visiting San Quentin inmates, those whom society has labeled and cast off - like the lepers were cast off in the time of Jesus.
Also, I met the results of racial segregation in our cities, poor educational opportunities, and sexual abuse. Statistics show that between 60 and 80% of inmates were abused as children. I met inequality in the criminal justice system. I rarely met a white middle class person serving time. I met African Americans, Hispanics, poor whites - people constantly struggling to find lawyers who would give them enough time. This was expecially true of those on Death Row.
Neverthless, I found hospitality. I knew I was talking to people who had committed serious crimes, yet I heard their struggle and their shame. And I saw that their needs are not being met.
There is one chaplain for 5,000 inmates. They live in punitive conditions. The State of California requires more room to house an animal than a prison inmate. Usually two inmates are locked up in a confined space most of the day. I would find it hard to live with my own brother in those circumstances. And how do they get away with that? There are prison laws, court orders, but not much improvement.
We do not treat them the way we teach our children: parents at home, teachers, classes. We are not even making an attempt. They are not learning jobs that will be productive for them on the outside. The number of inmates is increasing as society solves its problems by stiffening prison sentences and building more prisons.
While we are building prisons, in tight financial times no one wants to spend money on people in prison. In California, they took a quarter-page ad for a TV series on prison reform: "Room with a view, three meals a day, gym equipment, and your own psychologist: California prisons." So the purpose was to reinforce the stereotype that people in prison are coddled.
Now, I am not naive to the fact that many should not be back on the streets. But I saw no attempt at rehabilitation. It was truly punishing, and we have to acknowledge that our standard for the treatment of prisoners is a worldly one of "an eye for an eye."
We believe in repentance and reform, but what do we do about something we don't reform? What do we do about a whole society punishing prison inmates in a way that makes change impossible and bitterness inevitable. One prisoner likened himself to and animal, "Even if you lock a dog in a cage for ten years, you're going to get one mad dog in ten years." This is truly a test of God's mercy. Nothing that I could have done is outside the scope of God's mercy. The Gospel message is there for those we label the worst, and His mercy touches the worst in us, too.
One year after Christmas, my father sent me a photo of the familt sitting around the table with a large Italian meal, my brother and sister and their families, my father and mother, nieces and nephews: close together, rubbing shoulders in the NY apartment; happy, smiling faces; lots of food; arms around each other. Late for San Quentin, I jumped in the car and crossed the Marin County bridge into another world. I was going to Death Row to visit a man who was depressed.
During our visit, he told me that his mother had died the past week and he didn't know whether to love or hate her. When he was 14, she broke a beer bottle and cut him on the neck. His father had disappeared years ago and he had a brother in Folsom Prison.
I thought of the picture of my family and of his "family picture" and wondered where I would be - would I be on the other side? I know that families of inmates are not too dissimilar to his.
What does a Christian do? Lock them up and throw away the key? What is the Christian response? Who decides that this is a time of punishment?
Any one of us could be in that place. I met some extraordinary inmates trying to change their lives against all odds: minimum education, little counseling, and violent surroundings. They were labeled pariahs by society, by people who didn't even know them. There were men who drew cartoons for their children; men who read the Bible and shared their insights with me. I met two men who had been in for fourteen years for killing a police officer. They didn't get the death penalty, and when the charges were overturned, they were released. What would have happened if we had the death penalty in California at that time?
Eighty percent of the population support capital punishment. I know the fears of people on the streets. I don't think some inmates should be let out - those who are really damaged for life. But I know men who will get out and lead good lives, and those who would if they had the opportunity.
Readers of the GoodNews Letter might adopt a prisoner by letter. Unfortunately, it is the last ministry people think about. If you believe in the reconciliation of Jesus Christ, that all are beloved by God, if you are not trying to judge your neighboe, but want to respond to the gospel and let all people feel that love, contact your local prison chaplain. Get the name of someone who will be in jail for a long time. Most of them will never get mail.
Then you will realize what it is like to speak out of the core of the Gospel message that God loves us all, embraces us all, forgives us all. That's when you will have heard the Gospel for yourself, in your own life. That's when you will see your own preaching coming back to you.
Father Jude taught preaching at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA for 14 years. Now in Raleigh, NC, he conducts preaching workshops.
"Then the Lord asked Cain 'Where is your brother, Abel? He answered, 'I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"' And people have asked this ever since.
"Lord, when did we see you . .. in prison and not attend you in your needs? . . . As often as you neglected to do it to one of these least ones, you neglected to do it to me."
We live in an unfinished world. Christ's victory is real but its fullness is not yet. There are gaps. There is the emptiness of evil which cries out to be filled with love and justice and compassion by Christ's brothers and sisters, called to be cocreators of a redeemed but unfinished world.
"The created world awaits with eager expectation the day when those who are the sons of God will be displayed in all their glory." That time is not yet!
Those who commit crimes, street or whitecollar, open new gaps and spread the emptiness of evil.
We must stop them...
... from stealing
... from terrorizing
... from killing us.
It would be easier if we could hate them too but we cannot.
"If you love only those who love you, what merit is there in that?"
No one is really sure how to do this. Experience tells us that some things don't work. Vengeance doesn't work. Degradation doesn't work. Prisons don't work.
"Society has a right to protect itself against lawbreakers and even to exact just and measured retribution, but the limits of what is reasonable and just are far exceeded in too may penal institutions. . . Confined offenders are not our 'enemies.' They are fellow human beings, most of whom will one day move freely in our midst, either better or worse for their prison experience.
"In the long run, the answer is clear enough: the elimination of poverty, inequality and racial discrimination as significant factors in American life. . .
If criminal violence is to be reduced to a tolerable level, those who now feel excluded must become full, participating members of American society with a major stake in its preservation." This is how each successive violent "outgroup" found its way into productive life.
The home and the family are the fundamental institutions for preventing crime. There a child is. . .or is not . . . given the love, care, understanding and discipline he needs to be a responsible person. Troubled families need help and support.
We are rightly concerned for the victims of crime. Innocent people have at times been subjected to terrible fear and serious harm.
But many of the incarcerated are also victims: of child abuse, neglect, abandonment, exploitation and deprivation. In jails and prisons, they become victims again of human degradation and sexual abuse.
"Man cannot live without love. He remains a being that is incomprehensible for himself, his life is senseless if love is not revealed to him, if he does not encounter love, if he does not experience it and make it his own, if he does not participate intimately in it."
The principal group 'outside" society are those in correctional institutions. Many of our citizens feel offenders deserve no consideration, only punishment. In light of the Gospel. however, it is a change of heart which is sought from everyone without exception. Among ourselves, there must be no retribution "I will repay, says the Lord.:" Our punishments must be only remedial. The standard for individual punishments must be whether they are likely to contribute to the offender's change of heart and return to his place in the community
It may be that some offenders should never make that return to freedom. But do we not owe it to everyone including ourselves to make the effort and take the risk to find out who can change his heart?
In an unfinished world we become the hands of "Christ.
The Father planned it that way.
Not too long ago I worked in a Midwestern prison with three full time chaplains (one priest and two Protestant ministers) and a part time Islamic imam. We served approximately 2,200 prisoners about one thousand more than the institution was designed to house. In other words, the chaplain's office served some 2,200 families or pseudo/quasi families throughout a three state area. I quickly found that the inprison "parishioners" offer none of the lay resources usually available to the normal parish and that the family members of the inmates are usually consumers of social assistance rather than providers. The prison "parish," consequently, has no real lay members to call upon to render assistance to those in need. There is no pool of deacons, Eucharistic ministers, or homegrown seminarians to tap.
Combine the lack of lay resources with the inherent, bureaucratic requirements of prison administration, and you find that even the simplest tasks of ministry can become cumbersome, time consuming, and frustrating. This is true for the chaplain, of course, but particularly so for the inmate seeking assistance. At any time about 250 prisoners are in solitary confinement, "the hole." These individuals can remain there for months on end. To minister to them, the chaplain must leave his office and visit each cell, a substantial investment of time due to the several layers of locked doors one must pass through just to get to the solitary confinement area. This takes the chaplain away from the prisoners who can come to his office for counseling and assistance.
As becomes readily apparent after just a few days in prison, no chaplain has time to minister daily to those in the hole and to serve adequately the rest of the prison community. Administrative responsibilities also eat away at considerable periods of time which could otherwise be dedicated to counseling inmates.
While no two prisons are identical, based upon my experience, I would like to offer several generic suggestions for the Catholic Church's approach to the care of prison inmates and their families.
First, bring pressure upon the state to provide full time clerical help to free the Catholic chaplain to be a priest. A retired government or military midlevel administrator would be ideal.
Second, encourage seminarians and deacons to participate in prison ministry. For permanent deacons, the prison ministry experience could be incorporated into the courses preparing them for the diaconate. If this ministry is to be perceived as important by those studying for the priesthood and diaconate, they must hear the Church hierarchy say so and see its action mirror this perception. At present, this message does not resonate throughout every diocese.
Third, enable the dedicated lay person to bring communion regularly to those who now can receive only infrequently due to lack of ministerial resources. Dioceses can seek lay persons to work with the chaplains to create a system of scheduled Eucharistic ministers to provide communion to those who desire to receive it.
Fourth, request lay service organizations, like the Knights of Columbus, to help prison chaplains minister to the families of the incarcerated .
Fifth, create a simple postcard notification system to alert each parish that there is a family nearby, not necessarily a Catholic family, in need of assistance because a relative is in prison. This effort would be a constant witness to Catholic commitment even if all that is involved is a phone call to check on the family's needs.
Sixth, found a society of Catholic lawyers to set the moral and ethical standards for the local legal profession. Some dioceses already have a St. Thomas More society. Tap it to assist the prison chaplains in conjunction with other lay service organizations.
Seventh, hold an annual Mass to honor and encourage those Catholics who are prison administrators and legal professionals working with prison inmates, particularly those assisting indigent prisoners and their families. Prison guards are also members of Christ's flock.
The local bishop could institute a well publicized annual visit to at least one prison. Today the most visible churchmen involved in supporting prison ministry seem to be Protestants.
Without great effort or financial investment, the local Catholic Church can substantially enhance its evangelical mission to the incarcerated. As Catholic Christians our duty is to love Christ where we find Him, not solely where we seek Him. Nowhere is the opportunity to do so for all races, colors, and creeds more readily evident than on the floor of the prison.
Br Martin is a student at the College of the Immaculate Conception in Wash. DC and involved in local prison ministry.
PNCEA/Prison Ministries:
The Paulist National Catholic Evangelization Association / Prison Ministries is a Paulist sponsored service founded in 1993 as an outreach to the prison chaplain in support of his ministry. The three main arms of the ministry are:
1 ) Due to the special need of prayer for the overcrowded American judicial system PNCEA/Prison Ministries has launched a National Prison Prayer Crusade.
2) Distribution of Share the Word to Catholic chaplains; a Bible study manual for the Sunday Lectionary.
3) Bimonthly publication of Let's Talk!, a Catholic letter providing Bible-based answers to questions from prisoners.
In 1996 PNCEA will be publishing Spanish materials! To receive prayer cards, the Bible study manual, the newsletter or other materials write Rev. Thomas E. Comber, CSP:
PNCEA/Prison Ministries 3031 Fourth St. N E, Wash. DC 20017 1102
Ministry to the Imprisoned by Sr. Joan Campbell (Benedictine Press) Detention Ministry of the Archdiocese of Seattle, 910 Marion St., Seattle WA 98104.
The Christian Response to Violence, Homeland Ministries, Rev. Jerry Cunningham, Sr. Assoc, PO Box 1986, Indianapolis IN 46206 (317) 63531 13 X 373.
The Pontifical Biblical Commission has published the English version of The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church. Available from United States Catholic Conference, Wash. DC, 1800235USCC.
Evangelization resources availableat special prices, including The Star of 2000 and John Paul II and the New Evangelization books; the Jesus video with outreach strategies; and discounted back issues of New Evangelization 2000 magazine. Call (202) 5262814.
Companion to the Prayer of Christians, Reflections and Personal Prayers, by Rev. John Burke, OP now available from the Liturgical Press, S6.95 call 1-800-858-5450.
Evangelization 2000 will hold November meetings with associates and interested groups in the Canadian cities of Edmonton, Ft. McMurray, Toronto and Montreal. To foster joint evangelization initiatives and ecumenical cooperation with the local Catholic Churches. Call (202) 5262814 for details.
Catholic Association for Teachers of Homiletics: CATH will meet in conjunction with the Academy of Homiletics Nov. 30 - Dec. 2 in Atlanta. For info call (503) 845-3375.
Breaking Open the Word of God: A Bible Sharing Retreat
June 28 - July 3, 1996 with John Burke OP, Executive Director as retreat master. "From the Scriptures you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ." 2 Tim 3:15. Come and join Fr. Burke for this special time of prayer and study. Call or write: St. Stephen Priory, Spiritual Life Center, 20 Glen Street PO Box 370, Dover MA 020300370, (508) 785-0124 fax (508) 785-1020.
Before beginning, pause and listen
to Jesus say ... "I was in prison
and you visited me. "(Matt 25:36)
Jesus
look with compassion
on those in prison.
Heal the broken,
console the innocent,
and reveal your presence
to those who seek you.
Jesus
heal their victims;
give your peace and perseverance
to their families;
impart the gifts of justice and
mercy
to those who judge;
grant patience and wisdom
to those who guard;
and give your special grace
to those who minister in your
name. Amen.
National Prison Prayer Crusade
PNCEA
The GoodNews Letter is published three times a Year by The National Institute for the Word of God. Story suggestions, news items, and correspondence are welcome and may be forwarded to the Editor
Michaelmas, 1995
The National Institute for the Word of God 487 Michigan Avenue. NEWashington, DC 20017 Editor, Mary Ann McGuire, Ed. D
Return to main document