That Prisoners may be Treated with Justice and Respect

Visiting the imprisoned…

It’s that corporal work of mercy we always remember for Catholic trivia games, but it’s also the one we conveniently forget about when it comes time to serve others.

It is good, then, that Pope Benedict XVI reminds us to pray for our forgotten brothers and sisters this month. His general intention is: “That prisoners may be treated with justice and respect for their human dignity.”

During the Church-wide celebration for the Jubilee Year in 2000, Blessed John Paul II called for a Day of Jubilee for Prisoners. Prison gates should not exclude men and women from celebrating the Holy Year, he said, and his hope was that “the Risen Lord, who entered the Upper Room through closed doors, will enter all the prisons of the world and find a welcome in the hearts of those within, bringing peace and serenity to everyone.”

In his message for the event, the late pontiff encouraged prisoners to realize that their time was not lost in prison. “Even time in prison is God’s time,” he said, and if prisoners approach their time behind bars with faith, then true healing, rehabilitation, and growth can come out of it.

Blessed John Paul II reminded government leaders of this as well. He encouraged legislators to make it possible for inmates to deepen their relationships with God. Their social recovery could then have a deeper, more meaningful impact.

The Holy Father celebrated the Jubilee with Mass in a Roman prison called "Regina Coeli." In his homily, he repeated much of what he had included in his message. One new point was made, though, and it was a reminder that Jesus Christ was also a prisoner:

“I was in prison" (Mt 25: 36):  these words of Christ re-echoed for us today in the Gospel passage proclaimed a few moments ago. They set before our mind's eye the image of Christ actually imprisoned. We can almost see him again on Holy Thursday evening in Gethsemane:  he, innocence personified, surrounded like a criminal by an armed band from the Sanhedrin, captured and brought before the court of Annas and Caiaphas…

Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ - the prisoner - appears before us who are gathered here. "I was in prison and you came to me" (Mt 25: 36). He is asking to be found in you and in so many other people touched by various forms of human suffering…

Jesus respected the law, and he was a lawgiver Himself. But He also knew what it was like to be a prisoner. Blessed John Paul II reminded inmates of that, and he gave them a reason to identify with Christ and embrace His Cross.

So let us remember to see Jesus in the faces of prisoners, and throughout the rest of this month, let us pray with Pope Benedict that prisoners may be treated with justice and respect for their human dignity.