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This Day Newsletter – Fall 2013 Issue

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Feature article: Saints Who Were in Prison

Thomas More (1478-1535) was a good husband and father, had a sense of humor, and a pleasant personality. He also was a successful lawyer, scholar and writer, and his talent won both the friendship and recognition of King Henry the Eighth of England. Eventually, the king appointed him to the post of Lord Chancellor – the highest position in the government. It was a great honor and Thomas served with fairness and justice. What at first seemed like a dream-come-true turned into a nightmare that cost Thomas his life. Eventually, the king decided to divorce the queen because they had no children. He desperately wanted a son to succeed him as king. When the pope refused to dissolve the marriage, the king declared himself head of the church in England, divorced the queen and took a new wife.

When citizens were asked to make an oath of loyalty to the king as the head of the church, using his knowledge of the law, Thomas claimed the right to remain silent and retired from public life, resigning as Chancellor. Nevertheless, he was summoned to back to court and jailed in the Tower of London, where he remained in solitude for 15 months …

Click here to read the newsletter

Also included in this issue: An Update from Director Ron Zeilinger, Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice & Christ’s Body Behind Bars.

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4Thought TV’s Theme: “Can you find God behind bars?”

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Can you find God behind bars?

Today 93,395 people are in prison in the UK. With time to reflect on their actions, many of them turn to religion for guidance and solace. But what does faith do for those inmates? This week 4thought.tv visits Barlinnie Prison, Scotland’s largest jail to ask, ‘Can you find God behind bars?’

Click here to view the vidoes – personal stories of inmates finding faith in prison>

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Dismas Ministry Featured in Our Sunday Visitor Newsweekly!

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Director Ron Zeilinger was interviewed for the article: Freedom behind bars, Inmates can grow spiritually even while in jail, thanks to dedicated prison ministry volunteers. – By Brian Fraga – OSV Newsweekly, 11/3/2013.

Here is the excerpt of Ron’s part in the article:

Still, even if quietly, thousands of Catholic inmates hunger for spiritual nourishment. Many inmates often write to the Milwaukee, Wis., offices of Dismas Ministry, which provides Bibles and faith study materials, including rosaries and prayer books, in English and Spanish, to inmates across the country.

“For them, in many cases, they don’t have anybody they can reach out to,” said Ron Zeilinger, who is director of Dismas Ministry. “So when they get something like a Bible and prayer book, it’s gold in their hands. It makes quite an impression. On our feedback forms, we get nice responses and spontaneously written letters on things going on in their spiritual lives.

“It’s an honor and a grace to meet them at that level,” said Zeilinger, who also visits prisons to participate in prayer services and restorative justice programs.

“It’s always a touching and profound experience when you meet the men and women, shake their hand, look them in the eye and see their face,” Zeilinger said. “It puts a human face on them. The first impression is that these people are just ordinary people. Maybe they’ve done some stupid or foolish things, but it really is a humbling and human thing to be with them.

“You don’t feel threatened, or ill at ease,” Zeilinger added. “They’re very grateful to have you there. They usually give you a warm reception. They’re grateful that someone would come and spend some time with them.”

Click here to read the full article>

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Introducing 2 of Our New Board Members!

We told the stories of some of our new Dismas Ministry board members in our Summer 2013 Newsletter, but get to know two of them better in this video interview.

 

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National Catholic Prison Ministry Meeting

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July 18, 2013 – Milwaukee, WI – National Catholic Prison Ministry Meeting – Board members from around the country met Thursday, July 18, in Milwaukee for the annual meeting of Dismas Ministry, a national Catholic prison ministry based in Wisconsin but serving Catholic inmates in the nation’s county, state and federal prisons. The board members met with executive director Ron Zeilinger to set the annual budget for the outreach and to approve proposals to advance the ministry’s mission to bring free Catholic scripture, faith and prayer resources to chaplains and inmates.

Attending members included Amalia Molina (Restorative Justice Office-Archdiocese of Los Angeles), Rev. George Williams, SJ (Catholic chaplain at San Quentin State Prison, CA), Schauneille Allen (Director of Outreach Ministries, St. John the Evangelist Cathedral), Mark Henry (cordinator of Jail & Prison Ministry=Diocese of Boise ID), Brian Kennedy, MD (Detention Ministry-Waukesha County), Rev. José Moreno, SJ. (Pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, Milwaukee, Prison Outreach to Spanish-Speaking-Wisconsin), Deacon Richard Niggemann (Detention Ministry-Waukesha County & Juvenile Detention Ministry-Milwaukee County WI), Sr. Ruth Poochigian, OP (Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa and Catholic Prison Ministry WI), Deacon Al Stockert (Office of Prison Ministry-Diocese of
Biloxi MS). Newly elected members attending for the first time were Schauneille Allen, Sr. Ruth Poochigian, OP, and Rev. George Williams, SJ.

The ministry serves thousands of Catholic inmates annually, providing them with Bibles as well as faith and prayer resources designed specifically for inmates. The ministry was founded in 2000 and is approved by the Catholic Church. Bishop Donald J. Hying serves as the ministry’s ecclesiastical liaison.

Click here to view photos from the meeting on our Facebook page>

More information on this unique Catholic response to this unique work of mercy – visiting the imprisoned – can be found on the ministry’s website: www.dismasministry.org

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