Catholic Mobilizing Network (www.catholicsmobilizing.org) is a national organization that mobilizes Catholics and all people of goodwill to value life over death, to end the death penalty, transform the U.S. criminal justice system from punitive to restorative. This year as we observe Lent, we are invited to enter into a season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that lead us more deeply into the following of Christ.
CMN is offering a weekly series on restorative justice that will lead you to a deeper appreciation of what it means to follow Christ when you are hurting or when you have been hurt, when you need healing and when you are looking for new ways to restore relationships that are damaged.
The weekly series will follow the book Harm, Healing and Human Dignity (A Catholic Encounter with Restorative Justice by Caitlin Morneau) but is not required reading. Each week of Lent the weekly module will be available on the CMN website and include other web-based resources and reference material, all rich in wisdom.
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The five weekly Lenten modules address the following Restorative Justice themes:
- When We Think About Justice
- When We Experience Harm
- When We Cause Harm
- When WE Consider Communities, Systems, and Structures
- When We Become Agents of Restoration
In preparation for the Lenten Series a “Reflection on Restorative Justice and the Good Samaritan” by Bishop Robert McElroy of San Diego is available on the CMN site. Bishop McElroy offered these words about the Parable of the Good Samaritan:
“I propose to you today that these same characters of Jesus’ parable, passer-by, robber, victim and good Samaritan also reflect the power and the richness of an ethic of Restorative Justice …. This means entering into the woundedness of both the victim by the side of the road and the humanity of the robber. It is far more expansive and demanding a notion of justice than procedural justice can ever hope to be.”