Okanagan Correctional Centre (File photo)
RE: Justice is more than jail time
Dear Editor:
I read with interest your editorial in a June edition of the Osoyoos Times. The topic was forgiveness and Dale Boyd gave a sound and realistic analysis of the process of justice, based on his own time spent in courtrooms chronicling trials. There, some folks are judged guilty. Penalties, fines, sanctions, and even incarceration are meant to have purpose and intended effects. Ideally, they should bolster community standards of expected right conduct, they should be for the protection of the community when/where necessary, and they should prompt the reform of the offender.
Positively and compassionately, the editorial proposed that disciplinary action must be balanced with a measured application of justice blended with forgiveness. Excellent point, and I agree that we should not “throw away the key.”
However, embedded in the otherwise encouraging editorial were two paragraphs which questioned the response of faith communities (specifically Christian) in the Okanagan Valley in matters of justice and mercy.
In the sixth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel (part of the Sermon on the Mount) Jesus advises against parading and trumpeting our good works so as to be seen by others. However, because Boyd admitted to no church attendance since he was five, I will reluctantly attempt a quick update on what we are doing to assist those who have run afoul of the law. Each Thursday afternoon, the Catholic communities of Oliver and Osoyoos celebrate Holy Mass with the inmates of the Okanagan Correctional Centre. Two priests and more than a dozen parishioners are committed to regular prison ministry. Those involved in visiting the inmates have secured RCMP criminal record clearance, have taken the training seminar provided by OCC staff, have covered their own transportation costs to visit, and they comply fully with the requirements of the centre. It is not hard to see the enjoyment the inmates get from the visits and pastoral ministry. Consistently more non-Catholic inmates than Catholic inmates attend. In addition to weekly Holy Mass, parishioners visit the inmates for other times of prayer, and I am available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and spiritual direction when requested, not to mention ministry to the sick when inmates are ill. Our two churches provided Christmas gifts to the inmates and prepared a Christmas lunch for the prison staff. There are two full-time chaplains at the prison and I am told that at least two other Christian churches regularly plan services at the institution.
Among the good points in the editorial is the line, “…we judge society … by how we treat those most in need.” I could not agree more. We believe in a consistent ethic of life to defend all people – that includes the poor, the aged, the prisoners, the refugees, the unborn, the physically and mentally challenged, the discouraged and despairing, and so many others. As Catholics we believe in the Works of Mercy, seven corporal and seven spiritual.
Corporal: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the prisoners, bury the dead, give alms to the poor.
Spiritual: instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish the sinner, bear wrongs patiently, forgive others willingly, comfort the afflicted, and pray for the living and dead.
Can you imagine a world in which everyone lived committed to these fourteen works of mercy? Boyd hints that he may soon have to preach a sermon on forgiveness. Great topic! Go for it.
Peter Tompkins,
Pastor – St. Anne Church
