Winter '03

From the President.....

During the Christmas holidays I had the chance to catch up – as I’m sure you did – with friends over a glass of wine and some good conversation. As usual the talk got around to jails and prisons and how are things going? Unfortunately over the years the answer to this last part always falls into the “to hell in a hand basket” category. The system of “justice” in which we minister has, as we all know, become more and more punitive. The principles of Restorative Justice are all-too-infrequently practiced or preached.

But what struck me in my visit with my friends, Olga and Barbara, was how little the average person knows about all this injustice. Most of our friends and parishioners are good folks living in a world of ignorance when it comes to the people and issues we face every day. Is this blindness blameless? Not really, I suppose, but my aim here is not to point fingers, but rather to suggest a way through this “cloud of unknowing.”

Barbara and Olga are wonderful caring people and faith-filled Christians. It was obvious to me, however, that their awareness of prisoners and their families, of victims and their needs, of the impersonal and vengeful way we deal with crime and its aftermath, is minimal at best. This, even as the prison population continues to swell and death rows to fill.

It also struck me that, if my friends are to become enlightened and sensitized, then I’m the one to get the ball rolling. And may I suggest that all of us share this same challenge to get the word out. We – especially in the ACCCA – are the ones on the scene. We are the ones whose experience gives us the right and, indeed, the responsibility to open the blinds and shed some light on this unknown world of wastefulness and revenge. Who else but you and me?

Writing these lines, I realize I’m “preaching to the choir,” as well as laying another helping on plates already full. But perhaps if we could seize more opportunities to address our worship assemblies, speak to school and community groups, write to newspapers and engage in dialogues on every level, the places where we minister would be emptied of all those who really don’t need to be there. And then the real work of Restorative Justice could begin!

Peace,

Rev. Robert Schulze,

President, ACCCA

Legislative Updates

On October 27, 2003, the United States Senate unanimously passed S. 1194, the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2003. The Act was introduced by Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH) and would be a good start towards ensuring that mentally ill offenders receive the proper treatment they need with grants designed to create community based treatment programs and other services. The programs receiving the grants would be required to operate collaboratively with criminal justice and mental health agencies. The bill has been received in the House and is awaiting action in the Judiciary Committee. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has endorsed the legislation and is currently asking members of the House Judiciary Committee for their support.

In May of 2003, Representative Danny Davis (D-IL) introduced HR2166, the Public Safety Ex-Offender Self-Sufficiency Act of 2003. The proposal would amend the Internal Revenue Code in order to establish, as a general business credit, a temporary ex-offender low-income housing credit for qualified ex-offenders in a residential building which provides required support services. The bill currently has only 16 co-sponsors and has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. The USCCB is studying the bill at this time.

In his recent State of the Union Address, the President proposed a four-year, $300 million initiative to reduce recidivism among the estimated 600,000 inmates who are released annually. The President’s Prisoner Re-entry Initiative will attempt to expand job training programs, provide transitional housing, promote mentoring groups, and expand the involvement of faith-based organizations in the reintegration of former prisoners. The USCCB has learned that the White House has designated Rep. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) as the official sponsors of the President’s proposal once they complete an initial draft.

For more information on these and other issues, please contact Andy Rivas at 202-541-3190; (fax) 202-541-3339; or arivas@usccb.org.

ACCCA Winter Business Meeting

The Executive Committee of the ACCCA met January 8-10 at the Center of Jesus the Lord in New Orleans.
Present were Robert Schulze, President; Mark Schmieder, Vice-President; Thomas Houle, Treasurer;
Mary D'Ambrogi, Secretary; Sharon Hull, Executive Secretary (pro-tem); Margaret Graziano, out-going
Certification Chair; Mary Lou Schnitzer, in-coming Certification Chair; Anthony Bruno, Northeast Regional Vice President; Andrew Rivas, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops representative; and Paul Rogers, ACCA President and Midwest Regional V.P.

Among the issues discussed were the following:

1) The summer 2004 gathering will take place at St. Xavier University in Chicago, from July 28-31. This year's theme is: "The Role of Correctional Ministers—Advocates for Justice." The planning committee, appointed at last summer's Nashville gathering, is completing its work on the agenda and the overall program.

2) Officers Robert Schulze, (President) and Mark Schmieder (Vice President) were reelected for a second term at the Nashville meeting. Treasurer Thomas Houle and Secretary Mary D'Ambrogi were reappointed to their respective roles.

3) Sharon Hull was welcomed as the new Executive Secretary (pro tem). She begins a part-time position made possible by funds approved by the full membership, in Philadelphia in 2001, for the position search and setup of the office.

4) As the ACCCA is affiliated with and receives its certification from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, a search is on to find a new bishop to succeed Bishop Gabino Zavala as liaison with the USCCB.

5) The Nashville-appointed committee to establish a ACCCA website has submitted its preliminary plans and a site should be operative shortly.

6) Sr. Mary Lou Schnitzer was welcomed as the new chair of the Certification Committee, succeeding Sr. Margaret Graziano, who has held this post for several years. Both Sisters Margaret and Mary Lou will continue to serve in the ACCA's certification process. The ACCCA had its certification by the USCCB officially renewed for the next seven years after a lengthy and thorough review by the USCCB Certification team headed by Jean Marie Weber of Milwaukee.

ICCPPC Meet in Vienna

The Executive Committee of the ICCPPC (International Catholic Commission for Prison Pastoral Care) met in Vienna January 28 thru February 4. This annual meeting, in follow-up to the general gathering last summer in Dublin, took place at the Central Vienna Prison, where current ICCPPC President Christian Kuhn serves as Chaplain. Also present were Executive Secretary Gerard Loman (Netherlands), Treasurer Paul Steverink (Netherlands), African Regional Delegate Sister Jacky Atabong (Cameroon), South American Delegate Bruno van der Maat (Peru), European Delegate
Heinz-Peter Echtermeyer (Germany), Asia-Oceannia Delegate Rodolfo Diamante (Philippines), UN Liaison Leonard Kosatka (Japan), and Robert Schulze, North American Delegate and ACCCA President.

Among the issues on the agenda were plans for the next general gathering in 2007 (the ICCPPC general membership meets every 3-4 years). The sight of that meeting is still to be determined, although most of the board members expressed a strong preference to meet in a developing-world country if the economics of travel, visas, etc. allows. This would help the organization project a more truly "international" flavor and focus, away from being perceived as exclusively "European."

Also discussed were the ongoing activities of the five regions and how to forge stronger and more workable tieswith the Vatican's Commission on Justice and Peace. If this sounds familiar, it echoes our own ACCCA continuing effort to forge stronger ties of support and visibility with the USCCB. We talked at length about other areas of networking with international and regional organizations such as IPCA (International Prison Chaplains' Association), the United Nations (ICCPPC is an NGO with observer status), Prison Fellowship International, and PRI (Prison Reform International). Our keynote speaker in Chicago this summer will be the Baroness Vivien Stern, a driving force in PRI. We hope to have with us also in Chicago ICCPPC President Kuhn to provide us with an overview of how our two groups are linked in prayer, ministry and common goals.

Of course, no visit to Vienna would be complete without schnitzel, music, wine and architectural wonders. A visit to the UN headquarters on the Danube, an 11th century Augustinian monastery known for its fine wines, the magnificent Habsburg palace at Schoenborn and a little Mozart at the Grand Opera House filled in the off-hours very nicely, bitteschoen..

Future issues of the ICCPPC newsletter will be available, as will the publications of the ACCA and IPCA. We will continue to send them our own newsletter and be careful to keep the lines of communication open across the lines of culture, denomination and geography.

American Catholic Correctional Chaplains Association

American
Catholic
Correctional
Chaplains
Association