Sixth Corporal Work of Mercy: 

To Visit the Imprisoned 

Introduction

Boot camps for young offenders, super-jails, more severe sentencing, stricter discipline for criminals, for-profit prisons... These and other issues have been much discussed in our province over the past few years. They indicate dissatisfaction, even frustration on the part of many people when confronted with the problem of crime and what to do with offenders. There seems to be a hardening of positions, a shift towards a more punitive approach to those who have been convicted of crime. A just concern for victims and their rights sometimes leads to vindictive attitudes towards prisoners.

Faced with these issues, how should a Catholic react? Our tradition as a Church invites us to consider these questions in the light of Gospel values that are sometimes forgotten in our discussions. On the occasion of International Restorative Justice Week, which this year is celebrated from November 11 to 17, the Social Affairs Commission of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario wishes to invite Catholics of the province, and all men and women of good will, to reflect on these values and to ponder how they might shape our opinions and actions when confronted with these questions.

The Dignity of All

The Gospel of Jesus Christ reveals to us the fundamental dignity of each person, irrespective of his or her social status, past actions or present situation. The teaching that "God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8) continually surprises us with the reality of God's unconditional love for all men and women. This love, which rains down "on the righteous and on the unrighteous" (Matthew 5,45), is the foundation of the dignity of each human being, a dignity which was given to us when we were created "in the image and likeness of God" (Genesis 1:27), a dignity which even sin cannot destroy. At the core of their being, criminals are not defined by their crimes. They are human beings, first and always. As human beings, they share with all other humans the right to be treated with dignity. To love the sinner while hating the sin is the challenge that is set before all of Christ's disciples.

As bishops, we have had the occasion of meeting many men and women who, working within our justice and correctional systems, are gifted with a deep sense of the dignity of those they meet in their work. They struggle to help people rediscover their own worth and live out of a sense of the sacredness of all people. We celebrate them in their convictions, commitments and courage.

Yet, as individuals, they are sometimes overwhelmed by the systemic problems they face. Correctional facilities must somehow incorporate the value of dignity in their policies and programs. They need to be developed in such a way that both inmates and personnel are recognized and protected in their own sense of value and sacredness. Concretely, we need to ask whether this is possible when a prison is being run to make a profit : too often, people are sacrificed to market forces in these situations.

The gradual eroding of chaplaincy services in many of our jails is also symptomatic of a system that is losing sight of the spiritual dimension of all individuals. Respect of individuals must include valuing every aspect of what makes them human, not least of which is a person's spirit.

The intrinsic dignity of individuals also calls for respect of their personal differences. Those with family ties, those with responsibility to others, those with handicaps of whatever nature need to be treated according to these differences.

Of particular concern is the racial imbalance that pervades our justice system, as we witness an over-representation of Native men and women in our correctional facilities. To recognize their dignity also means to respect their cultural identity.

We worry that so many poor people find themselves in jail. The correlation between low socio-economic status and criminal activity invites us to look at these issues in a broader context than simple crime-and-punishment models.

Finally, and certainly not least, we think of the victims of crime. They are the first to have been attacked in their own dignity, for all crime violates the sacredness of people. Yet, this cannot be undone or repaired by the violation of the sacredness of those who have committed the crime. Justice cannot be reduced to a simple balancing of books, to the equalization of suffering. Somehow, justice seeks to restore people to the dignity that has been scarred by the crime: the dignity of both the victim and the criminal.

Restorative justice is a concept that has given birth to a number of projects that respect the dignity of both victims and offenders in an effort to restore correct relationships among them. All Catholics should acquaint themselves with this concept and the projects which seek to incorporate it.

The Possibility of Conversion

Even as he recognized the dignity of the sinners who faced him, Jesus called them to change, to grow into the fullness of their humanity. To the woman who was about to be stoned for having broken the law, Jesus says: "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again." (John 8:11) This belief in the ability of people to change their hearts when touched by grace is the foundation of our hope when we are confronted with the power of evil and its destructive surges. The story of the Good Thief (Luke 23:39-43) invites us never to give up this hope, for to abandon it is to condemn people to their past. To lose this hope is to imprison criminals in their own violence. Prisons without hope are little more than storage pens for individuals whose very humanity has been denied.

Certainly, some individuals are so psychologically perturbed that they cannot change. They are so dangerous to others and to themselves that they need to be isolated from the general community. But this is not the case of the majority of offenders. For them, our corrections system must become precisely what it claims to be in its name: a system which fosters and facilitates the correction of ways of being and thinking that hurt not only the victims but the perpetrators themselves. To correct something, according to the word's first meaning, is to make something right: what was warped is straightened, what was weak is strengthened, what was inhuman is made humane. Punishment only takes on meaning in this context, and must be evaluated according to its capacity to help individuals discover or rediscover their human dignity. Education, training, counseling and spiritual accompaniment must be at the core of all prison programs, for it is through such efforts that individuals can grow, find hope and be transformed.

Seeking the Common Good

The Gospel reminds us continually that we are called to journey as a people without exclusion or rejection of anyone. All of humanity is called to be reconciled in Christ. All of humanity is called to be fulfilled in Christ (Col 1:15-20). This spiritual, theological conviction, when brought into social reality, takes the form of a commitment to the flowering of the common good. None is to be left behind, discarded or forgotten.

The way forward after a crime has been committed can only be found in the restoration of the dignity of all: victims and offenders. This seeking for the common good is a particular responsibility of good government: it should frame policy and regulations. It is also the responsibility of all citizens and should inspire their debates, their commitments and their actions.

In this sense, the place of prisons in society is particularly challenging. Most people have never visited a prison and have no desire to do so. Most communities do not want prisons in their midst. Fear of violent offenders might justify such an attitude; but most often, people simply do not want to be reminded of the existence of these individuals who have been declared guilty of crime. Such a refusal to care for any segment of society hurts the common good and eventually hurts us all.

"I was in prison, and you visited me..." (Matthew 25:36) Christ's words continue to resonate in our hearts and challenge us as a society to take care even of those who have not given care in the past. Christ chose to identify himself with prisoners: we are therefore invited to see in every prisoner the face of Christ. As bishops, we want to recognize and celebrate the many members of our communities who have accepted to minister in prisons in so many various ways. We rejoice at the existence of volunteer associations that care for inmates and their families. We encourage those who have never contemplated such a commitment to consider its possibility. We encourage parishes to set up pastoral ministry to those in prison, to the families of those in prison and to those leaving prison.

In Conclusion

John-Paul II has called young men and women from around the world to gather in Toronto during the summer of 2002 to celebrate the World Youth Days. He has chosen as the theme for this great festival of faith a verse from Matthew's Gospel : "You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world." (5:13-14) In the message announcing this theme, he writes:

You must show that faith is a personal decision which involves your whole life. Let the Gospel be the measure and guide of life's decisions and plans! Then you will be missionaries in all that you do and say, and wherever you work and live you will be signs of God's love, credible witnesses to the loving presence of Jesus Christ.

These words invite all of us to be formed by Gospel values as we reflect on our justice and correctional systems. At the beginning of this letter, we asked: "Faced with these issues, how should a Catholic react?" Dignity, conversion, and the common good are three values that should shape our way of responding to the challenge which faces us when confronted by crime, its causes and impact in our society. Let us answer this challenge by taking on the mind of Christ. Only in this way can we become salt for the earth and light for the world.

Issued by: The Social Affairs Commission of the Ontario Assembly of Catholic Bishops

Most Rev. John Sherlock
Bishop of London
Chair of the Social Affairs Commission of the Ontario Assembly of Catholic Bishops

Feast of All Saints, November 1, 2001

N.B.: For a quick introduction to the concept of restorative justice, see the Solicitor-General of Canada's web page
http://www.sgc.gc.ca/EFact/erestjustice.htm.
For John Paul II's message for the Jubilee in prisons, see
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/messages/documents/ hf_jp-ii_mes_20000630_jubilprisoners_en.html.