Jail ministry, little noticed but in demand, 'helps people hear the voice of Christ'

CHICAGO (OSV News) -- The work of Catholic prison and jail ministry has been carried out in the United States for decades, according to members of the Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition. And those involved in the ministry have consistently said demand for this work remains high.
Still today, with clergy, religious and lay volunteers involved, the coalition -- the central hub for all Catholic jail, prison, and detention ministry efforts in the United States -- found that the ministry was receiving little notice from the pews.

OSV News took a look at both jail and prison ministries starting with this profile of some Catholic services at one of the largest single-site jails in the country, Chicago's Cook County Jail.

When Jesuit Father Jeremiah Lynch heard "a construction noise" in the early morning outside his congregation's house in Chicago's Little Italy neighborhood, he opened the side door and did not expect to see two young men trying to saw off parts from a parked vehicle in their lot. Then he heard gunshots and immediately turned to go back in. One bullet barely missed his nape and pierced the wooden door, along with another.

That was in the summer. By fall, he admitted to OSV News he was "still processing" what happened.

Remarking on the irony that he himself knew exactly what the guys were doing, Father Lynch said they fit the very profile of some of the younger men he ministers to as a full-time chaplain at Cook County Jail in Chicago.

"And then even more an irony, I was putting people away for doing that 30 (plus) years ago," he said, referring to his career as a Cook County prosecutor before entering the Jesuits in 1994. "They make a lot more money. They could make a lot more money in an hour than they could in a week, doing that kind of work."

Father Lynch, 74, said there is strong demand for his time in the jail. He said he spends half his day counseling at the various jail divisions on 96 acres that currently house nearly 5,200 people, about 250 of them women. The population is mostly awaiting trial or disposition of their cases.
The rest of the time, he does bereavement visits for lost family members "almost always, that were killed," and distributes Bibles, the Quran and other prayer materials.

"A much greater percent of them than, say, the average person of that age (18-30) in the general population had not ever had anyone really listen to them … or they were afraid to go to people in their life because they just didn't have the psychological skills to deal with them. So they just … shut down. So to be listened to is quite a shock for them and quite a new thing," said Father Lynch.

Mark McCombs said the "needs of the justice-involved community far outstrip the services that are available." He is executive director of Kolbe House, the jail ministry of the Chicago Archdiocese, located four blocks from the jail.

A former convict himself (for padding hours on his attorney billings for a lobby client), McCombs told OSV News that Kolbe House covers a wide range of help. There are secular services and support for those released from custody, such as financial literacy and centering prayer and discussions about the online series "The Chosen," on the life of Jesus and his closest disciples, for those awaiting trial.

He said jail ministry is "a worthwhile important thing because it really helps people hear the voice of Christ … at a time when they very desperately needed to try and find meaning for their lives," said McCombs. "They have been brought to a place -- it's as if their life has changed to a point where they may have woken up in Mars. They are in a situation where they have no idea what to expect and how to navigate it and they're looking to bring some meaning to their life."

Father Lynch said since his time as a prosecutor, he has observed a significant increase in the jail population of people without any connection to a father, and nowadays, also none to a mother. And he regularly hears about experiences of violence, trauma, abuse and other tragic stories of lives "out of Edgar Allan Poe," he said, referring to the 19th-century poet and short-story writer famous for his psychological horror and macabre tales.

In this setting, Father Lynch said he discerns whether someone in custody is truly ready to talk and how his sessions would be most helpful to them.

Sister Angele Hinkey, a Daughter of Charity, has ministered to the women's side of the jail for the past 13 years. Apart from chaplaincy, she paints and has used the canvas to help the women communicate their struggles.

Sister Angele, 88, explained to OSV News that for a two-and-a half hour period she lends brushes and water-based oil paints to one woman, and, without giving any art lessons, simply tells her to "paint from the heart."

"What I try to do through that experience is to kind of tap those images that are stuck on the inside," she said. "Lots of times all the way from their childhood, the women's childhood, and loosen those so that they feel comfortable or vulnerable enough to let them emerge. And they put them on the canvas."

Sister Angele said even during their temporary stays, the women who paint say they have gained a sense of freedom. And sometimes, they open up enough to talk to her.

Jane Gubser, a psychologist and the Cook County Jail executive director, told OSV News the ministry is critical to the institution's day-to-day operations because it helps "manage the population."

"There's no workbook," said Gubser. "There's no computer program that I can put someone in that is going to equate the true healing process that someone can experience with a spiritual adviser, with a priest, with a chaplain, with someone who can bring comfort. And the truth is that when people don't have that, and when hope is completely lost, it creates a very frightening and unsafe space for people to be in."