Why should we care for prisoners?

ANEWLY appointed chaplain of a prison accompanied a convict to the electric chair. What will he say to console a man about to die? “Goodbye? Take care? See you later?”

* ** Visibly nervous, the young priest was at a loss for the right words to say. Finally, as the convict got to the electric chair, the priest patted him on the head and blurted out: “more power to you!” (Poor chaplain, he inadvertently said, “more electric power”!)

* ** We are grateful that our government had abolished death penalty. The decision coincides with the Biblical teaching that only God, the Creator, can take away life.

* ** The Church designated October 23-29 as Prison Awareness Week and culminates today.

The annual event serves to focus our attention on inmates who are languishing in jail, paying for their crimes.

* ** Also, we remember the wardens, prison guards, and other jail management personnel in their difficult, lonely, not to mention precarious dangerous work. Likewise, we thank the interfaith organizations and NGOs who regularly and, without fanfare, work among the inmates.

* ** As long as one is alive, there’s hope. God never gives up on the worst sinner.

In a Catholic school where a group of social concern students were discussing about what apostolate they would do, some included regular visitation of the local prisoners.

* ** However, one of them vigorously objected, saying, “Why visit them? They deserve to be there and suffer for their crimes.”

One of them replied, “We do not think that way. We live by a Christian attitude.” The Christian attitude is never to give up on criminals and offenders. * ** This has always been the teaching of Jesus Christ in the gospel as, for instance, in the parables of the Lost Coin, Sheep, Son (cf. Luke 15) or his acceptance of sinners like the tax collectors Matthew and Zacchaeus and the adulterous women.

*** Pope Francis had exemplified dramatically Jesus’ attitude of mercy and compassion towards the condemned when he washed the feet of the prisoners in Rome on Holy Thursday. He did the same when he visited the prisoners in Bolivia and Philadelphia on his papal visits there.

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In the parable of the Last Judgment (Matthew 25, 31 ff.), one of the works of mercy the Lord will ask as a requirement for entering His Kingdom is visiting prisoners (“When I was in prison, you visited me”).

*** As followers of Jesus and exhorted by Pope Francis, it is only right, therefore, that as followers we emulate this spirit of mercy and compassion towards prisoners.

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OVERCROWDED JAILS. “Visiting prisoners” does not mean only presence but also improving the prisoners’ welfare and defending their human rights when needed.

Fr. Anthony Ranada, SVD, former chaplain of Quezon City jail in Kamuning, told me repeatedly how most of our jails in Metro Manila are cramped and congested, a problem which spawns riots, gang wars, and epidemics.

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For instance, Quezon City Jail can accommodate only 700 inmates but today there are 3,400! And to think that most of those behind bars are still undergoing litigation.

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This is also the woeful case of many of our jails all over the country.

CALLING LOCAL EXECUTIVES. ACT ON THE PLIGHT OF OUR PRISONERS.

* * * SUPPORT SEMINARIANS. Did it ever strike you that seminarians are our future priests and missionaries? We cannot have them if we don’t support seminarians NOW.

So let’s support our seminarians.

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Those who want to help may e-mail me for inquiry at: belsvd@gmail.com.