Prayers
A Prayer for Prisoners
Lord, you are close to those who are most alone.
Be present to our brothers and sisters in prison
who suffer from the coronavirus.
In their dark hours, be a light of hope.
In their sad plight, stir us to compassion.
In their daily routine, stir the kindness of their guards.
In their physical struggles, pour out a healing balm.
Lead them and us, one day, home to you. Amen
by Father Louis Cameli Profiles in Catholicism
Interviews
Book Reviews and Commentaries
No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison by Behrouz Boochani Reviewed by Andrew Hamilton La Croix International
Film Reviews and Commentaries
Just Mercy Commentary by Christopher White Crux
Coronavirus Articles/Commentaries
Catholic leaders decry prisoners’ exposure to COVID-19 during pandemic by Mark Pattison Catholic News Service/Crux
Flattening the Curve for Incarcerated Populations — Covid-19 in Jails and Prisons by Matthew J. Akiyama, M.D., Anne C. Spaulding, M.D., and Josiah D. Rich, M.D. The New England Journal of Medicine
Sister Helen Prejean Spending COVID-19 Quarantine Advocating for Prisoners by Christopher WhiteNew Evangelization Television (NET)
What it’s like to be locked in prison during the coronavirus pandemic by Jeremy Roebuck and Chris Palmer ThePhiladelphiaInquirer
No Escape From Virus Threat for 2 Million Crammed in Prisons by by Richard WrightPrison Legal News
Prison sentences could turn into death sentences amid the coronavirus pandemic, experts say. Mass releases could be the best strategy to save thousands of lives by Joey HaddenBusiness Insider
Pope Francis shines a light on prisoners during Good Friday's unusual Via Crucis by Claire GiangravéReligion News Service
Coronavirus Puts a Prison Under Siege by Sadie Gurman, Zusha Elinson and Deanna PaulThe Wall Street Journal
Prisons and jails across the US are turning into 'petri dishes' for coronavirus. Deputies are falling ill, too by Holly Yan, CNN
Coronavirus updates: Germany cases jump more than 5,300; outbreak at Chicago’s largest jail by Ellioot Smith and Weizhen TanCNBC
Coronavirus Sparked Prison Riots in Italy. Will It Happen Here? by Kaiser Health News
Coronavirus will thrive in British jails: prisoners face a death sentence by Mark Johnson The Guardian
Asia's overcrowded prisons await Covid-19 disaster by by UCANews reporter UCANews.com
BOP Implementing Modified Operations by Federal Bureau of Prisons
Inmates In Washington State Protest After Fellow Prisoners Test Positive For COVID-19 by Scott NeumanNPR
This Quarantined Holy Week I’m Thinking of a Brother Jesuit in Jail by Billy Critchley-Menor, SJThe Jesuit Post
Pakistan's top court cancels order to free prisoners by UCANews reporterUCANews.com
El Paso bishop calls for release of nonviolent migrants in detention by Rhina Guidos Catholic News Service/National Catholic Reporter
English bishop calls for early release of prisoners during COVID-19 pandemic by Charles CollinsCrux
Vatican Major Penitentiary: Mercy does not cease amid coronavirus by CNA Daily News /The Catholic World Report
Prisoners are digging mass graves in New York City by Geoff HerbertSyracuse.com
Pope prays for solution to overcrowded prisons during pandemic by Junno Arocho EstevesCatholic News Service/Crux
Prisoners are digging mass graves in New York City by Geoff HerbertSyracuse.com
Brazil’s Church leaders warn about threat to prisoners posed by COVID-19 by Eduardo Campos LimaCrux
Rikers Island Prisoners Are Being Offered PPE and $6 an Hour to Dig Mass Graves by Ryan Grim The Intercept
Ill-prepared for Covid-19, Mexico City prisons continue to allow visitors by Jan-Albert HootsenAmerica
Bishop urges government to tackle COVID-19 in prisons by Independent Catholic News
Pope Francis calls for a global cease-fire, attention to overcrowded prisons in response to coronavirus by Gerard O’ConnellAmerica
Forget me not: Prison ministry faces challenges of global pandemic by Junno Arocho Esteves Catholic News Service/America
Prison Chaplains Adapt as Coronavirus Limits Their Ministry by Jonah McKeownCNA/National Catholic Register
Pope Francis Offers Mass for Prisoners After Italian Prison Riots by Courtney MaresCNA/National Catholic Register
General Articles/Commentaries
Wrongfully imprisoned for decades, Jimmie Gardner is driven by faith and justice by Aysha Khan Religion News Service
Uncertain future for Philippines' freed child prisoners byFather Shay CullenUCANews
Reconciliation comes to two mothers after imprisonment by Chris Herlinger Global Sisters Report
Have mercy, release nonviolent prisoners during pandemic by NCR Editorial Staff National Catholic Reporter
Should Turkey extend the release of prisoners to journalists and human rights activists, who were arbitrarily detained? by We Hold These Truths
What’s it like to say Mass on death row? An interview with the Jesuit chaplain of San Quentin prison by Jesuitical America
Dimesse sisters link female prisoners to society in Kenya by Doreen Ajiambo Global Sisters Report
Pope Blesses Rosaries for Prisoners by Inés San Martín The Tablet
250 journalists imprisoned worldwide during 2019 by Vatican News
Prison art teacher’s memoir weaves family, poetry, and vocation by Heather King Crux/Angelus
New York City Paid McKinsey Millions to Stem Jail Violence. Instead, Violence Soared. by Ian MacDougal ProPublica
Why I Started a Book Club in the Harris County Jail by Amalia Beckner Observer
Prepping for Parole by Jennifer Gonnerman The New Yorker
Prepping for Parole.A group of volunteers is helping incarcerated people negotiate a system that is all but broken by Jennifer Gonnerman The New Yorker
Pope says no to Argentina in 2020, yes to freeing Nicaragua prisoners now by Inés San Martín Crux
Pope urges greater efforts to reform prison systems ,e chances of committing crime, says Francis by La Croix International staff (with Catholic News Service)
Pope Francis: Prisoners need windows and horizons by Independent Catholic News
Catholic Anti-Nuclear Activists On Trial During Respect Life Month by Billy Critchley-Menor, SJ The Jesuit Post
Faith Leaders Support Plan to Close Jails on Rikers Island by The Tablet Staff The Tablet
Lithuania’s new cardinal spent time in Soviet prison for defending Catholicism by Jonathan Luxmoore Catholic News Service/America
How one Catholic group is fighting for justice in Nigeria’s troubled prison system by Linus Unah America
Rikers Island prison ‘has got to go,’ says New York cardinal by Christopher White Crux
Pope Francis: Life imprisonment forgoes the ‘right to start over’ by Courtney Grogan Catholic News Agency/Angelus
Brazil has one of the most violent prison systems in the world. Can the Catholic Church help? by Eduardo Campos America
St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Atomic Bomb, and a Strange Connection by Jack Hartjes Patheos
Auschwitz Memorial chronicles the sacrifice of St. Maximilian Kolbe by, Angelus/Catholic News Agency
French cannabis debate ignores race, religion and mass incarceration of Muslims by David A. Guba Religion News Service
New Crisis: The mass incarceration of women and minorities by Stacy M. Brown The Louisiana Weekly
Activists join prisoners on hunger strike in Vietnam by UCANews Reporter UCANews.com
The Dark Secret of Juvenile Detention Centers by Josh Voorhees Slate
Teen says juvenile detention center used inmates as ‘sex slaves’ by Kaja Whitehouse New York Post
China is killing prisoners for organs, tribunal finds by UCANews Reporter UCANews..com
Teaching in America’s Prisons Has Taught Me to Believe in Second Chances by The Conversation Patheos
Drakeo the Ruler Speaks to Tablet From Prison by Jeff Weiss Tablet
Criminal justice reform: 7 things to know about the latest re-entry research by Koch Newsroom
Faith leaders call for an end to solitary confinement by Perry West Catholic News Agency/Angelus
As execution looms, case for clemency hinges on an act of forgiveness by Theresa Laurence Catholic News Service/Angelus
Drakeo the Ruler Speaks to Tablet From Prison by Jeff Weiss Tablet
Jail is no place for mothers, or mothers-to-be by The Times Editorial Board The Los Angeles Times
Bishop Tamaki wants Kelvin Davis to man up, do his job, or else by CathNews New Zealand
Kairos retreats share God’s love with those on the inside By Zoey Maraist The Arlington Catholic Herald
Solitary confinement in U.S. prisons qualifies today as torture by Mark Pattison Catholic News Service/Crux
Pope washes inmates' feet at Mass of Lord’s Supper by Devin Watkins Vatican News
Walk for Life frees prisoner to heal from loss, inspire others by Diane Hanson The Catholic World Report
Father Greg Boyle’s solution to an unjust criminal justice system: radical kinship by J.D. Long-García America
China's 'genocide' unlike any other The global community must act to end the forcible extraction of organs from prisoners of conscience by Benedict Rogers La Croix International
Lobbying in lieu of ashes: a pushback against long prison sentences by Mary Ann McGivern National Catholic Reporter
Cardinal Timothy Dolan Celebrates Mass at Riker's Island. by Emily Drooby Net TV
N.Y. congregation's concern leads bank to end private prison financing by Dennis Sadowski Catholic News Service/ Global Sisters Report
The Price of Doing Business in Russia: Prison by Amy Knight NYR Daily
The wisdom of ‘The Work’: self-discovery inside a prison’s walls by Gregory Mellor America
The value of public penance in the age of clerical abuse, mass incarceration and #MeToo by Eve Tushnet America
Inside Ireland’s Largest Prison: ‘They’re getting out worse than they went in’ by Peter Crawley The Irish Times
Bishops blast Alabama for denying inmate his imam at execution by Christopher White Crux
Pope: Staff can help make prison a place of redemption by Lydia O’Kane Vatican News
With prisoners, pope derides ‘adjectives’ used to label and dismiss by Inés San Martín Crux/Angelus
Giving hope to prisoners by Xavier Diaz La Croix International
Long prison sentences make things worse, not better by Mary Ann McGivern National Catholic Reporter
Young Inmates Make Crozier for Pope by Zerit Staff
Plan to create an L.A. County women’s' jail in Lancaster faces serious opposition by Maya Lay LA Times
For a Catholic family in Pakistan, poverty is a bitter reality by ACN Staff
Nuns in India have faced abuse for decades by Tim Sullivan Associated Press/America
Reporting abuse, activists work to end detention for pregnant migrants by Maria Benevento National Catholic Reporter
California inmate takes unlikely path to freedom: Podcasting by Olga R. Rodríguez Associated Press
Trump destabilizes the presidency and the nation's soul by Joan Chittister National Catholic Reporter
State legislators working for a pro-life New Year by Catholic News Agency/ Angelus
O Come Emmanuel: Free us prisoners by Julia Walsh National Catholic Reporter
Human rights through an Anglican lens by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba Anglicam Communiony News Service
Man-Up programme has never been banned from prisons by CathNews New Zealand
The care that children need by Father Shay Cullen UCANews.com
How we treat prisoners tells us who we are by Mary Ann McGivern National Catholic Reporter
English and Welsh bishops on the need for prison reform by John Waters Vatican News
Iowa guest house helps women get back on their feet after prison by Joanne Fox Catholic News Service/Global Sisters Report
29 sickened at Ohio prison due to fentanyl-heroin mix by Bethany Bruner The Columbus Dispatch
Brain-Damaged Son in Prison by Concerned Mom
English bishop says prison “not fit for purpose” after scathing report by Charles Collins Crux
Older inmates have paid their debts. Are we willing to forgive them? by Mary Buser America
Pope Francis: The death penalty is contrary to the Gospel by Gerard O'Connell America
St. Maria Goretti teaches me to see God in the faces of murderers and rapists by Valerie Schultz America
We Were Both Weak by Chris Williams, SJ The Jesuit Post
The Corporal Works of Mercy: To Visit the Imprisoned by Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic Church.
In California, prison chaplains wanted—and wanting by Jim McDermott America
Bail out program lets mothers go home by Shireen Korkzan National Catholic Reporter
Supreme Court rejects Texas' standards for executing the intellectually disabled fy Matt Hadro CNA/EWTN News
Unjust Incarceration: A Look Inside a Broken System by Sherriff Tom Dart
Lessons from Prison Ministry by Laura DeMaria Catholic Stand
Beyond Bars: A Prison Story by Will Owen, The Johnson Intern Program Catholic Volunteer Network
Deacons see prison ministry as blessing behind bars Ministers say outreach does not induce fear but instead a joy of serving on the peripheries Paul Senz OSV Newsweekly
Jubilee Year of Mercy for prisoners by Bishop David Ricken
Letter to House Judiciary Urging Support for the Second Chance Act by Ignited State Conference of Catholic Bishops
The Corporal Works of Mercy: To Visit the Imprisoned by Our Lady of Grace Roman Catholic. Church.
Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice A Statement of the Catholic Bishops of the United States
Human Rights Watch Details Abuse of Mentally Disabled Prisoners by Sarah HorwitzThe Washington Post
Those in prison ministry offer moral, spiritual support to inmates by Mark Pattison Catholic News Service
Where Love and Justice Meet 2007 RESTORATIVE JUSTICE BIBLE STUDY
Catholic Prison Ministry by John A. Coleman America
“Not in it for Justice”: How California’s Pretrial Detention and Bail System Unfairly Punishes Poor People by Human Rights Watch index this by date
“I Needed Help, Instead I Was Punished”: Abuse and Neglect of Prisoners with Disabilities in Australia by Human Rights Watch
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on her Catholic faith and the urgency of a criminal justice reform by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez America
Book Reviews/Commentaries
Chokehold: Policing Black Men by Paul Butler, Commentary by Georgetown University
Refuge In Hell by Ronald D. Lemmert, Reviewed by George Williams America
Film Reviews
The Work Commentary by Gregory Mellor America
13TH: A Documentary by Ava DuVernay Reviewed by Morris Reeves
Videos
Save the Jailed Children from Covid 19
Coronavirus outbreak: Milan prison inmates climb roof after virtual lockdown triggers riot
Prison in the time of coronavirus
Coronavirus outbreak threatens U.S. prison system
Myanmar to release almost 25,000 prisoners to prevent coronavirus outbreaks in overcrowded jails
Coronavirus outbreak: B.C. reports 35 new COVID-19 cases, 5 from Mission prison in hospital
Six dead as coronavirus restrictions trigger Italy prison riots
'We need help': Alabama prisoner pleas for assistance in fighting COVID-19 ABC News
Life Inside Bali's Infamous Kerobokan Prison
Keeping Hope by Karen Henning Heuberger, Dismas Ministry
Pope at Jubilee of Prisoners asks society to facilitate the reintegration of the imprisoned
Capuchin Franciscan Friars - Prison Ministry
Bring mercy to the sick and to prisoners
Prison Ministry - Helping to redeem, restore and reconcile
Restorative Justice
Restorative Justice
2014-06-27 Restorative Justice Interviews (with Ron Zeilinger and Amalia Molina)
Catholic Charities Jail & Prison Ministry Volunteer Experience--Tim Duggan
Vatican Penitential Celebration 2016.03.04
Amen Lord off Songs from Harare Prison--"Ndaive Mbava"
Resources