Pope to prisoners: ‘no one is beyond the reach of God’s mercy’

On the last day of his Mexican pilgrimage, the Pope travelled to Ciudad Juárez, very close to the US border, where he visited inmates, their families and prison workers in the city’s Prison n. 3.

Until not long ago, Juárez was considered the murder capital of the world as cartel-backed gang warfare triggered souring homicide rates and ‘disappearances’.

To the some 700 inmates gathered in the prison courtyard, Pope Francis noted he was coming to the end of his visit to Mexico and he could not leave with greeting them and celebrating the Jubilee Year of Mercy with them.

He said that to celebrate the Holy Year of Mercy recalls “the pressing journey that we must undertake in order to break the cycle of violence and crime”.

He said that many decades have already been lost “thinking and believing that everything will be resolved by isolating, separating, incarcerating (…) and believing that these policies really solve problems”.

Pope Francis said that the care for prisoners is a moral imperative for the whole of society and that reintegration does not begin “within these walls”, but “before – outside -  in the streets of the city”.
  
“Reintegration or rehabilitation begins by creating a system which we could call social health, that is, a society which seeks not to cause sickness, polluting relationships in neighbourhoods, schools, town squares, the streets, homes and in the whole of the social spectrum.  A system of social health that endeavours to promote a culture which acts and seeks to prevent those situations and pathways that end in damaging and impairing the social fabric” he said.

And recognizing that those present have known the power of sorrow and sin and that they cannot undo what they have done , the Pope said that they must now learn to open the door to the future, to tomorrow and believe that things can change. 

“ Celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy with you means inviting you to lift up your heads and to work in order to gain this space of longed-for freedom” he said. 

Pointing out that he who has suffered the greatest pain, “has experienced hell” can become a prophet in society, the Pope urged those present to work so that “this society which uses people and discards them will not go on claiming victims”.

He also had words of thanks and encouragement to those who work in this Centre or others like it and expressed gratitude for the efforts made by the chaplains, consecrated persons and lay faithful who have dedicated themselves to keeping alive the hope of the Gospel of Mercy in the prison. 

“Never forget - he said - that all of you can be signs of the heart of the Father.  We need one another to keep on moving forward”.

Please find below the full text of the Pope’s address to prison inmates at the Centre for Social Adjustment n.3 in Ciudad Juárez:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I am coming to the end of my visit to Mexico, and I could not leave without greeting you and celebrating with you the Jubilee of Mercy.

I am deeply grateful for your words of welcome, which express your many hopes and aspirations, as well as your many sorrows, fears and uncertainties.

During my visit to Africa, I was able to open the door of mercy for the whole world in the city of Bangui.  United to you and with you today, I want to reiterate once more the confidence that Jesus urges us to have: the mercy that embraces everyone and is found in every corner of the world.  There is no place beyond the reach of his mercy, no space or person it cannot touch.

Celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy with you is recalling the pressing journey that we must undertake in order to break the cycle of violence and crime.  We have already lost many decades thinking and believing that everything will be resolved by isolating, separating, incarcerating, and ridding ourselves of problems, believing that these policies really solve problems.  We have forgotten to focus on what must truly be our concern: people’s lives; their lives, those of their families, and those who have suffered because of this cycle of violence.

Divine Mercy reminds us that prisons are an indication of the kind of society we are.  In many cases they are a sign of the silence and omissions which have led to a throwaway culture, a symptom of a culture that has stopped supporting life, of a society that has abandoned its children.

Mercy reminds us that reintegration does not begin here within these walls; rather it begins before, it begins “outside”, in the streets of the city.  Reintegration or rehabilitation begins by creating a system which we could call social health, that is, a society which seeks not to cause sickness, polluting relationships in neighbourhoods, schools, town squares, the streets, homes and in the whole of the social spectrum.  A system of social health that endeavours to promote a culture which acts and seeks to prevent those situations and pathways that end in damaging and impairing the social fabric.

At times it may seem that prisons are intended more to prevent people from committing crimes than to promote the process of rehabilitation that allows us to address the social, psychological and family problems which lead a person to act in a certain way.  The problem of security is not resolved only by incarcerating; rather, it calls us to intervene by confronting the structural and cultural causes of insecurity that impact the entire social framework.

Jesus’ concern for the care of the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless and prisoners (cf. Mt 25:34-40) sought to express the core of the Father’s mercy.  This becomes a moral imperative for the whole of society that wishes to maintain the necessary conditions for a better common life.  It is within a society’s capacity to include the poor, infirm and imprisoned, that we see its ability to heal their wounds and make them builders of a peaceful coexistence.  Social reintegration begins by making sure that all of our children go to school and that their families obtain dignified work by creating public spaces for leisure and recreation, and by fostering civic participation, health services and access to basic services, to name just a few possible measures. 

Celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy with you means learning not to be prisoners of the past, of yesterday.  It means learning to open the door to the future, to tomorrow; it means believing that things can change.  Celebrating the Jubilee of Mercy with you means inviting you to lift up your heads and to work in order to gain this space of longed-for freedom.

We know that we cannot turn back, we know that what is done, is done.  This is the way I wanted to celebrate with you the Jubilee of Mercy, because it does not exclude the possibility of writing a new story and moving forward.  You suffer the pain of a failure, you feel the remorse of your actions and in many cases, with great limitations, you seek to remake your lives in the midst of solitude.  You have known the power of sorrow and sin, and have not forgotten that within your reach is the power of the resurrection, the power of divine mercy which makes all things new.  Now, this mercy can reach you in the hardest and most difficult of places, but such occasions can also perhaps bring truly positive results.  From inside this prison, you must work hard to change the situations which create the most exclusion.  Speak with your loved ones, tell them of your experiences, help them to put an end to this cycle of violence and exclusion.  The one who has suffered the greatest pain, and we could say “has experienced hell”, can become a prophet in society.  Work so that this society which uses people and discards them will not go on claiming victims.

I wish also to encourage those who work in this Centre or others like it: the directors, prison guards, and all who undertake any type of work in this Centre.  And I am also grateful for the efforts made by the chaplains, consecrated persons and lay faithful who have dedicated themselves to keeping alive the hope of the Gospel of Mercy in the prison.  Never forget that all of you can be signs of the heart of the Father.  We need one another to keep on moving forward.

Before giving you my blessing, I would like for us all to pray a moment in silence.  From the depths of our hearts, may each one of us ask God to help us believe in his mercy.

And I ask you, do not forget to pray for me.

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