JCCU

My work with refugees has led me back to a personal experience of loss. When I was a child, my family had a farm in Saguenay region (East Quebec), and later on we had to move to the city.

In April, as part of a three-week seminar on Catholic social teaching, my Jesuit novitiate visited the Louisiana State Penitentiary, better known as Angola Prison. Though in the past I worked for a program that assists recently released prisoners, until this day, I had not interacted with the permanently incarcerated.

I work in Camden, New Jersey. It is America's poorest and most violent city of its size and this year we are on course to set a new homicide record. Put in perspective, if New York City were to have the murder rate of Camden this year, it would mean that close to 6000 people would have been killed already.

Deon used to come to mass almost daily with his wild eyes beaming and flashing a big, toothy grin. He especially seemed to love coming into the church in the middle of my homily and calling out at the top of his voice, "HI, FATHER!" He was clearly suffering from some form of mental illness, and there were numerous stories as to its cause.

San Quentin State Prison is an iconic American prison. Over 150 years old, it has witnessed thousands of prisoners pass through its massive iron gates. As all prisons, it has developed within its walls a spirit of oppression and cruelty.

They arrived: the Girl, her brother and their mother. "Take blankets out for them three", said Sister Lorena. They had all been given out in the morning, but I still looked in the closet and I only found a baby blanket.

“With my daughter getting older and my brother’s recent death, my family needs me more than ever…I don’t know what to tell my daughter when she asks me if I will be with her? I wish I could tell her not to worry… that I’ll take care of her and that everything will be alright.

I’m at a women’s cooperative near Bauchi, Nigeria. It’s 1996. Participants have just described to a group of us from Canada the lengthy production process of locust seed bean cake. It’s used to flavour soups and stews.

I will never forget the day it all came together. The place: St. Martin of Porres Parish, comprising two marginalized neighbourhoods in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, a parish that has been a source of life for my Province since a group of Jesuits moved here thirty-six years ago.