BISHOPS INDICT PRISONS

Pastoral letters guide the faithful in remaining true to the gospel in
changing times. And so 32 American Roman Catholic bishops recently
signed a strongly worded condemnation of the criminal justice system.

"We call upon all people of faith to pray, study and act to transform
what is unjust about our criminal justice system," said the letter,
the fifth in a series on criminal justice issues, prepared by the
Bishops' Advisory Committee of the Kentucky-based Catholic Committee
of the South.

That effort adds another influential voice to the many others,
religious and secular, who for years have been critical of the
criminal justice system and have worked to support the families of
inmates.

Pastoral letters to come will take up post-release issues and women in
prison, the Catholic News Service reported.

In the recent letter, the bishops take exception to such "simplistic
solutions to crime" as the three-strikes laws that have helped swell
the U.S. prison population to today's 2 million, more than in any
other country.

The bishops are troubled not only that it costs taxpayers about $50
billion a year to keep so many incarcerated - money that they insist
could be better spent - but also that, more often than not, prisoners
aren't being rehabilitated, aren't being paid a fair wage for their
work, aren't getting treatment for their addictions and mental health
problems, and aren't getting the training or education that might help
them succeed once they are freed, as most will be at some point.

The bishops also condemn the racism and discrimination in the criminal
justice system and make the point that some prisoners aren't even safe
behind bars. They're "subjected to gang violence or abuse by other
inmates or correctional officers," the bishops say.

The bishops want people who've committed crimes to be held
accountable, but they also want prisoners to be treated humanely.

"Jesus himself was a prisoner," they recall.

It's all good. But it is also sad that, in this time of supposed
Christian righteousness, pastors must remind their flocks, as the
bishops reminded theirs, that "ultimately prison should be about
justice, not vengeance."