By Anthony Barich
Prayer and practical action are being urged by parishes ahead of the Australian Bishops’ groundbreaking Social Justice Sunday Statement on Prisons and the Justice System due on 25 September.
Perth Catholic Social Justice Council (CSJC) executive officer Terry Quinn told The Record that while each state has responsibility for corrective services and the justice system, there are concerns and problems in the justice system which are common throughout Australia.
These concerns include Indigenous over-representation in prisons; high recidivism rates; prisoner health – well below the national average; the link between mental health and imprisonment and the link between alcohol and drug addiction and imprisonment.
“These are just some of the issues faced by prisoners and their families, by prison authorities and other professionals, including prison chaplains, working in the area,” said Mr Quinn, who is also a prison chaplain at Wooroloo Prison Farm. “While we do not know yet (exactly) what the Bishops will say in their statement, we do know that often the decisions of courts and prisoners’ review panels are applied most punitively to Indigenous people, those with mental disabilities and younger offenders. I hope the statement will address these issues.
“This is the first time in many years that the Bishops have made a national statement on the state of the criminal justice system in Australia.”
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide confirmed on 1 July that the Bishops’ 2011 Social Justice Sunday statement would be titled Building bridges, not walls: Prisons and he justice system.
He said the statement would address five key challenges relating to the criminal justice system:
fear campaigns about law and order;
adequate support for people coming out of prison;
social factors that can contribute to crime;
the dignity of prisoners; and
realistic alternatives to incarceration.
“No crime can diminish the fact that we are all created in the image and likeness of God,” Archbishop Wilson said.
“In our parishes and communities, let us consider how we can offer support and make a difference for our brothers and sisters in prison and seeking bridges to a new life.” The Perth CSJC have prepared bulletin notices and suggested Prayers of the Faithful to use on the weekend Masses of the four Sunday of June, July, August and September to encourage parishioners to think and pray about prisoners, victims of crime and their families in the lead-up to the Bishops’ Statement.
The parish bulletin notices include testimonials from parents of prisoners and links to the Social Justice Sunday Statement. In cases where parishes have already prepared Prayers of the Faithful well ahead of time, parish priests and liturgy committees have been urged to consider adding additional petitions that the Perth CSJC suggested.
Broome Bishop Christopher Saunders, chair of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, has played a major role in the Statement and said he gained extra insight into these issues when he addressed a 29 May 2010 Law and Order Forum at the University of Notre Dame Australia in Fremantle.
Panellists at the forum, including Chief Justice Wayne Martin and Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan, agreed that criminal justice should lead to social justice by empowering families and communities to tailor solutions.
See Related Coverage: Removing all the options by Mark Reidy