Meeting of the European Branch of the International Commission for Catholic Prison Pastoral Care

On March 5, 2021, a video conference of the European Branch of the International Commission for Catholic Prison Pastoral Care was held. The meeting of the Chief Chaplains of European countries was moderated by Dr. Ryan van Eyck, Chief Chaplain of the Roman Catholic Church in the Ministry of Justice and Security of the Netherlands, the leading European representative of the ICCPPC. The main speaker of the webinar was Fr. George Harrison (responsible for prison chaplaincy in the Roman Dicastery of Integral Human Development).

The content of the meeting was reflections on the continuation of prison ministry in the circumstances of the pandemic. Father George Harrison spoke briefly about the preparations in the dicastery for the Holy Father's visit to Iraq and about the challenges and opportunities for spiritual care. The chaplains presented the pastoral events in their countries and shared their experiences of quarantine restrictions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated humanitarian crises and created significant human rights challenges. Nearly 11 million prisoners around the world are held in frequently overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, without access to adequate medical care and the opportunity to practice social distancing and proper hygiene. At the same time, in many countries, access to necessary pastoral support for prisoners and staff has been excessively difficult in prisons.

Father Harrison further noted the dicastery's significant efforts to ensure that an understanding of prison conditions and how criminal practices affect the global health crisis prompted solutions not only to ensure human rights and dignity during a pandemic, but to find alternatives to imprisonment.

The Epistle of the Holy Father Francis for Lent in 2021 was also read under the title: "Behold, we ascend to Jerusalem" (Mt 20:18). Lent: a time of renewal of faith, hope and love. The participants shared what inspired the message the most and what the "best way" to restore faith, hope and love in prisons, especially during this period of the Covid-19 pandemic. After mutual words of encouragement, the meeting ended with a joint prayer.

Penitentiary pastorate of the UGCC

The annual meeting has been held for volunteers of the Penitentiary Pastorate of the UGCC

On February 27, 2021, The annual meeting of volunteers of the UGCC Penitentiary Pastorate took place in the premises of the Patriarchal Curia of the UGCC near the Patriarchal Cathedral on the occasion of the Day of Special Attention to Prison Ministry.

The Day of special attention to the prison ministry falls every year on the Sunday of the Prodigal Son. The purpose of this event was to summarize the past year and to present new opportunities for volunteers of the UGCC in the penitentiary sphere. The prison mission helps the faithful to understand better the vocation of Christians to be the "salt of the earth".

A year has passed since the Ukrainian prison system went through a period of no visits from outside. This was because of quarantine restrictions imposed due to the risk of coronavirus infection among prisoners. However, the quarantine restrictions did not lead to the complete cessation of pastoral care in Ukrainian penitentiaries. Volunteers cared for the needs of women prisoners, especially women with children under 3 years of age. Video conferences were held for distance learning of volunteers, charitable gatherings were organized to support calendar events (Easter and Savior's Baskets for Prisoners, Cossack Hart), to prepare an Art exhibition-contest of fine arts of prisoners "Called to Freedom". There were regular meetings in Zoom with the inmates of the Kovel and Kremenchug juvenile colonies with student volunteers with the assistance of the head of the Center for Academic Pastoral Care, Fr. Yaroslav Pavlyuk.

Volunteers from Lviv, Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk were able to remotely join the meeting in Kyiv via Zoom. The head of the Pastoral Department of the UGCC in the penitentiary system of Ukraine, Constantin Panteley, read the Address of His Eminence Mykhailo Koltun on the occasion of the Day of Special Attention to Prison Ministry. During the meeting, the volunteers heard about opportunities and areas of ministry that could be of interest to the maximum number of believers seeking themselves in various church initiatives:

- support for victims of crime and their families;

- participation in probation volunteering;

- days of spiritual renewal for penitentiary staff and their families;

- correspondence with prisoners;

- participation in prisoner reintegration programs.

At the end of the meeting, volunteers visited the gallery of the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ to write reviews to the authors of the exhibition "Called to Freedom".

Penitentiary pastorate of the UGCC

Address of His Eminence Mikhail Koltun on the occasion of the Day of Special Attention to Prison Ministry

The pastoral word of Mykhailo Koltun, Bishop of Sokal-Zhovkva,

Head of the Department of Military Chaplaincy of the Patriarchal Curia of the UGCC

on the occasion of the Day of Special Attention to Prison Ministry

(Sunday of the Prodigal Son, February 28, 2021)

To Eminent and Most Reverend Bishops, Reverend Brothers and Sisters in Monasticism, 

to priests and faithful of the UGCC

Glory to Jesus Christ!

We are approaching the Great Lent. Once again, the Sunday of the Prodigal Son reminds us of the prison ministry and provides an opportunity to reflect on our own lives. What can we learn from prisoners who seek support in the sources of faith and rely on the Merciful Father?

Sunday's Gospel of the Prodigal Son inspires us to be bold in trusting God, Who is waiting for us, His children, in hope. The hope of forgiveness is taken over by the heart of the son, who returns home to his father. Therefore, we boldly learn to hope from our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who in His parable wanted to strengthen us on the path to forgiveness and finding the dignity of a child of God.

During the coronavirus pandemic quarantine, we all, without exception, experienced episodes of restrictions of liberty in our homes and were able to approach the state of an inmate with our thoughts and feelings. Because prisoner could be often overwhelmed by sadness, uncertainty, numerous needs and lack of opportunities to satisfy them, especially the need for human communication and acceptance…. We also feel as though you are a prisoners of our own sins and omissions, which have repeatedly condemned us in our own consciences. We often perceive our losses, our trials and regrets that we experience as punishment. How to cope with it?

We are bypassing the Day of Special Attention to Prison Ministry at a time when the Ukrainian prison system has experienced a year-long lockdown for visits from outside . This was not the case before. Because society has always had the motivation and opportunity to visit a prisoner.

For prisoners of faith, this year has been a test and at the same time a basis for hope that exaggerates the severity of external circumstances. In the year of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Divine Mercy, His Holiness Pope Francis addressed the prisoners: “We need to nourish the roots of our hope so that they can bear fruit; primarily, the certainty of God’s closeness and compassion, despite whatever evil we have done. There is no corner of our heart that cannot be touched by God’s love. Whenever someone makes a mistake, the Father’s mercy is all the more present, awakening repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation and peace.” The same goes for us.

The Heart of Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of our Lord and Savior, encourages us to be courageous in hope and hope, as heart that endured the sword of suffering and weeping for Her Son, Who offered himself for our sins as a voluntary sacrifice of redemption for the forgiveness of our sins.

Finally, pastors were re-admitted to the ministry, with certain restrictions on quarantine. We pray for them and for the prisoners. Remember in our prayer the prison staff as well. Let us be sensitive to the need to support victims of crime and their families.

 + Michael

* In accordance with the resolution of the fifty-first session of the Synod of Bishops of the Kyiv-Halych Supreme Archdiocese of the UGCC (Chortkiv, July 13-14, 2010), it was decided to pay special attention to the pastoral care of prisoners on Sunday of the Prodigal Son.