When he pulls back from the table, it is wet from his tears. It isn’t like he is sobbing. The tears just fall silently. Salvo, the name of this 30-something man who signed up for confession at the prison where I serve as a chaplain, kept on speaking. I wasn’t sure whether he was talking Read more
Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora is a maximum-security prison housing nearly 3,000 inmates in upper New York, not far from the Canadian border. Inside its walls is a beautiful Catholic church, the Church of St. Dismas, which has enhanced the spiritual lives of inmates for nearly 80 years. It is unique, in that it is Read more
A convicted criminal who was serving out his sentence in a monastery has escaped for the second time and asked to be sent back to prison because life was too tough. Continue reading
Anglicanism has been toppled as the biggest religious denomination among prisoners in England and Wales for the first time. Roman Catholics are the largest group of believers behind bars after years of steady decline in the number of Anglicans, official figures show. There are also only 1,500 fewer Muslim prisoners than Anglicans after their number Read more
Apodaca prison in Monterrey, Mexico, was the the scene of a violent uprising in 2012 now it is a place of peace and stillness. A quarter of the 2000 prisoners, guards and management in the overcrowded prison regularly practise meditation It has transformed life in the prison. Suicides are down 40 per cent; there have Read more
A former Church official jailed for his handling of abuse complaints is no longer housed at a US prison Pope Francis will visit later this year. Msgr William Lynn is serving a minimum three year sentence for endangering children in Philadelphia archdiocese. He had been held at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Center, while he appealed his 2012 Read more
The killer of Beatle John Lennon has found religion during his prison sentence, but that has not helped him get parole. Mark David Chapman, 59, told the New York State parole board last month about his faith journey behind bars, almost 35 years since he took Lennon’s life. Chapman told the board the reason he Read more
A Sudanese Christian mother sentenced to death for apostasy is to be released from prison, a Sudan foreign ministry official says. Meriam Ibrahim would be “freed within days in line with legal procedure that will be undertaken by the judiciary and the ministry of justice”, said Abdullah Alazreg. But Mrs Ibrahim’s lawyer, Mohanned Mustapha, told Read more
Rosemary McLeod referred to Bishop Justin Duckworth’s week in a monastic cell in front of Saint Paul’s Cathedral as a “performance piece” (Opinion, October 17). Justice Minister Judith Collins implied it was ridiculous and suggested this “sort of display” is “why people are leaving the Anglican Church”. Perhaps the symbol of a fenced in cell is Read more
Pope Francis has give support and encouragement by letter to an Argentinean rock singer jailed for causing a fire that took the lives of 194 young people in a Buenos Aires nightclub in 2004. “You will have days when you feel down, but don’t be afraid. Be strong. Everything passes,” the Pope wrote to Patricio Read more