For the 1,000-plus men residing at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud, a one-on-one meeting with prison chaplain and religious services coordinator, Mike Lamb, provides a unique opportunity to show vulnerability in a place where vulnerability is often a liability.
Two days after opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica to inaugurate the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis will travel to a Rome prison to open a Holy Door as a “tangible sign of the message of hope” for people in prisons around the world, the Vatican announced.
Workshops throughout the Catholic Social Ministry Gathering addressed numerous social outreach efforts to people on the margins, addressing poverty, immigration, racism, prison ministry, worker rights, mental health and economic development.
A case before the Supreme Court Nov. 9 argues that death-row chaplains should be able to pray aloud with inmates and place their hands on them in prayer during executions.
U.S. incarceration rates grew so fast over the past generation, they far outstripped the ability of any one organization to keep up. That issue is now being addressed by the new Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition.
The REC program helped former prisoner Billy Holman find healing, and a new life, family and job.
