Redeeming a Prison Society

The United States criminal justice system is in a state of crisis. Unprecedented rates of imprisonment and recidivism, the privatization of the prison system, and the disproportionate representation of particular racial, ethnic, social, and economic groups all exist within a larger social justice context. Catholics and Protestants have largely failed to offer vital theological responses, either inadequately addressing the interrelationship of the social and justice crises, failing to engage the current realities of the problem through recourse to abstract theory, or generating responses from a socio-political perspective distant from the crucial theological resources. In addresses the concrete issues from a strongly interdisciplinary approach and utilized the rich liturgical and sacramental resources of penance and Eucharist to offer a theological vision of reform.