What do I do about cruelty to prisoners I serve?

[kinsani]

At the prison where I take part in prison ministry, the prison has several floors with rooms for religious services. One floor housing both male and female inmates has one room inside and the other outside for services. Typically the males go to the inside room, females to the outside concrete porch hidden from sunlight. When I’ve been assigned to minister to women outside during winter, the women were cold, with blue lips and fingers. They wore thin clothes and short sleeves.

I informed Catholic group leader of problem. I was told that perhaps we could bring the women inside when finished with the men, but it was the decision of correction officers to do so. For months, following the leader, I have both groups use the inside room, one at a time. Correction officers have never had a problem doing this.

Last week our leader assigned another person to the women on this floor, instructing her to take them on the porch in cold weather. I was assigned to the same floor for the men inside. As we went to assignments I begged the other minister not to take women outside. The Catholic person assigned to the women LAUGHED and said she has seen inmates so cold they passed out! Others were blue and left the service. I said this is cruel of us to treat others. Our leader will not address the issue. What should I do?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Report it up the chain of command. Talk to whoever is in charge of the prison ministry. If it is a Catholic prison ministry sponsored by the local diocese, you could also write to the bishop if the head of the prison ministry is unreceptive. In addition to recommending that a Catholic prison minister who laughs at the sight of inmates passing out from the cold and willingly enables such a situation to occur be removed from ministry, you could also volunteer to take permanent responsibility for the women prisoners’ religious service.