Bishop Hayes says work of prison chaplains 'vital'
Statement marks Prisoner's Sunday.
The Bishop of Kilmore Martin Hayes says the work of prison chaplains is vital but unheralded.
Bishop Martin Hayes is the Liaison Bishop to the Irish Prison Service, and today marks Prisoners’ Sunday, a significant date in the Church calendar and the purpose of which is to encourage people to pray for prisoners. The aim is also to highlight their plight and recognises those who pastorally support the "innate dignity of prisoners in circumstances that can sometimes be devoid of humanity".
Bishop Hayes reminds that in her well-received publication, Unheard Voices, former prison chaplain Sister Imelda Wickham PBVM speaks on behalf of prisoners: 'we are all on the same journey of life, with its ups and downs, strengths and weaknesses, and all in need of redemption'.
Drawing on her broad and deep working-life experience, Sister Imelda states that prison chaplaincy has had a significant impact on her life.
"While being imprisoned is an experience most of us will never have, Sister Imelda emphasises that it not just those who are incarcerated that serve the sentence," says Bishop Hayes. "She rightly praises the gifts and skills of those in the prison system who help keep it operational, wisely reflecting “in all my years I have never met an evil person. People do evil things and we are all capable of that.”
He says that policymakers in particular can "learn" from Sister Imelda who points to addiction as the greatest disease and cause 2to destruction in people’s lives, leading to crime and prison.
"In ensuring that the unheard voices of prisoners are heard, Sister Imelda calls attention to the loneliness of the prisoner speaking of 'an aloneness reserved for the prisoner' where some “find there a wisdom that will sustain', while others 'struggle'.
"On this Prisoners’ Sunday, as we pray for all prisoners, we remember their families, all prison staff and prison chaplains, whose work is vital but unheralded within prison services throughout the world."