Catholic Charities already has an established diocesan-wide prison ministry of volunteers who go inside the jails and prisons to meet the needs of the incarcerated. But what about those who are newly-released into society after doing their time?
On Nov. 8, 2019, Pope Francis addressed the participants who were attending a two-day conference on Catholic Prison Ministry at the Vatican. He said, “Catholics have an obligation to recognize the humanity of those who have left the prison system, and to help them get back on their feet.”
This rings true especially in the United States, where in 2020 there were 2.3 million people incarcerated in the jails and prisons throughout our country. What were the situations that led people into crime that warranted incarceration? The answer is complex, but factors include poverty, family conditions, alcohol and drug abuse, parental neglect, low self-esteem, peer pressure and unemployment.
Young people are particularly susceptible. Neuroscience has documented significant differences in juvenile brains and adult brains, which are not fully developed until mid- to late-20s. A main difference is the maturity of the prefrontal cortex, which is directly related to traits like risk-assessment, impulsivity and social intelligence. This leaves young people especially prone to behaviors which lead to incarceration — impulsive actions, poorly-measured decisions and susceptibility to peer pressure.
Each day in our country, thousands of the incarcerated men and women complete their time and are released into society. The fortunate ones with family, friends and a support group are often able to start anew. However, those who have no loved ones or support systems are off to a different form of incarceration — social punishment. They are treated like they are in a tomb: forgotten, rejected, shunned, feared.
What did Jesus do when his friend Lazarus was in a tomb? He gathered the community and enlisted them in helping him to bring new life to Lazarus. First, he asked the people to roll away the stone. Then he called to Lazarus to come out, which he did. However, Lazarus couldn’t do much due to the burial cloths which impeded him. So, Jesus asked the community to take them off. It took Jesus, Lazarus and the community to bring this miracle of new life to fruition.
You have heard the expression, “It takes a village to raise a child.” With our new Prison Ministry Program we could say, “It takes a parish to help a newly released person get back on his or her feet.”
Stay tuned for the details about this program which will follow soon. In the meantime, to learn more or to become involved with Catholic Charities’ Prison Ministry, contact Sister Mary Cronin, prison ministry coordinator: Mary.Cronin@camdendiocese.org.
Sister Mary Cronin, DM, is prison ministry coordinator, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Camden.
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