The Purpose of Prison Ministry in the Diocese of Charleston
- Support and enhance parish-based prison ministry teams throughout the diocese
- Integrate all prison ministry provided by the Catholic Diocese of Charleston through training sessions, exchange of pertinent information via a newsletter, creating and communicating a vision of prison ministry for the diocese
- Provide a Catholic presence in every prison, jail, detention center (juvenile and adult) located in South Carolina
- To recruit volunteers to visit prisons, work in aftercare mentoring programs, and support the families of prisoners
- To evangelize within prisons by promoting the Gospel message and introduce those who express an interest in the Catholic faith
- Facilitate access to prisons for Catholic lay and ordained ministers
- Support Bible studies, catechesis in the Catholic faith, availability of the sacraments, companionship, Christian fellowship for those imprisoned
- Train Catholic ministers in every deanery of the diocese on a regular basis; instructing them in: methods of catechesis; how to function as a volunteer in a prison environment; the Gospel call to evangelize the prisoner; and all other topics relevant to being a Catholic minister of the Gospel within the prison environment
- Develop programs of aftercare, such as mentoring programs, for those who have left the prison system in other to convey the ongoing concern of the Catholic Church for their well being
- Develop programs for families, especially children of prisoners, that will support their needs and assist them in maintaining contact with the Catholic community while their family member is imprisoned
Our Prayer
Holy Mary, Mother of God, you have given the world its true light, Jesus, your Son – the Son of God. You abandoned yourself completely to God’s call and thus became a wellspring of the goodness which flows forth from him. Show us Jesus. Lead us to him. Teach us to know and love him, so that we too can become capable of true love and be fountains of living water in the midst of a thirsting world. Deus Caritas Est (God is Love), Dec. 2005