Restorative Justice Peace Prayer

The Criminal Justice Working Group of the Sisters of St. Joseph took charge of the organization and execution of the 11th Day Prayer for Peace this month, taking Restorative Justice as their theme for the service.

Restorative Justice is an ancient idea that is enjoying a recent surge of popularity in criminal justice circles. It's the profoundly sensible idea that crime hurts everyone in a community, not just the victim, and that everyone is responsible for preventing recidivism, not just the offender. Ideally the victim, the offender and the community can join together to create a sense of joint accountability and culpability. The basic message is that we are all responsible for each other.

An example of restorative justice at work on a large scale can be found in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission convened by the South African government after the dissolution of apartheid. All of the trials and hearings administered by the commission were public, and both the victims and the accused perpetrators were allowed to make public statements.

The Criminal Justice team took this theme and ran with it, inviting Jodelle Ista, a member of the South St. Paul Restorative Justice Project to give the reflection and taking the Good Samaritan story of the Gospel reading. Marilaurice Hemlock did a beautiful job as the music leader for the evening, and Mary Maas, Chris Furlong, Ann Quincy and Carmen Shaunghessy-Johnson shared reading responsibilities.

Thanks to all who came!