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A Sister, who is a prison chaplain, tells us about her work:
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As a prison chaplain, I see this as my model each day. My name is Pauline. My ministry is within a large Category A prison for both young and adult males, some on remand, some convicted. Coming to prison for the first, or even the second time, the young person or adult finds the experience traumatic: he feels dehumanised as he becomes a number and rejected by society. Within the anonymity of prison life he may even feel a non-person. |
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| Within my role as prison chaplain, the
spirituality that I try to live as a Sister of the Holy Family
calls me to sit with prisoners in their cells or on a landing, and
listen as they share their story. Each life-experience is different,
yet there is a common thread - all have a feeling of low self-worth.
One feels their pain as they tell of their shame and guilt, their
seeming inability to shed a drug/alcohol dependency, the many failed
and broken relationships, the sense of loneliness, isolation and fear.
In many cases they feel rejected by family and friends and seem unable
to control their violent outbursts. Sometimes I hear the question,
"What has God done for me?" To be listened to and accepted in a non-judgmental way allows the person, perhaps for the first time, to realise that someone is really listening. To be thus accepted, non-judgmentally, is one way his dignity as a human being is recognised and, consequently, his self-respect and self-worth begin to grow. The chaplain ministers, not only to the prisoners, but also to
the staff. For staff and prisoners the chaplain has to be a reminder
that the prisoner is not to be defined by what he has done. It is
our task to remind the whole establishment that each person is unique
in his humanity and that God loves him. |
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