To mark Prisoners’ Sunday on 5 November, Bishop Martin Hayes (pictured), the Episcopal Conference’s Liaison Bishop to the Irish Prison Service, said, “On Prisoners’ Sunday we remember to pray for the people who are in prison. We make our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord who challenges us with the words, ‘I was in prison and you visited me.’ (Mt. 25:37)
Bishop Hayes offered the following prayer to all who wish to pray for the victims of crime and their families, and for the plight that faces prisoners and their families:
We remember the people who are in prison today, conscious of,
- the victims of crime,
- the loneliness of the person in prison and their families,
- those who are enduring overcrowding in our prisons,
- those in prison with mental health illness that they may receive appropriate care,
- the staff of our prisons – the management, administration, support staff and officers entrusted with the care of those in custody,
- our prison chaplains and prison visitors who provide pastoral care to prisoners and prison staff,
- the value of prayer and the celebration of the Sacraments with those in our prisons,
- the need to reflect upon alternatives to prison as rehabilitation and of finding other ways of restoring those guilty of crimes so that they can contribute to the life of our communities.
Amen.
ENDS
