The overcrowding, the violation of rights, and the hardening of penitentiary policies exacerbate the crisis facing Latin American prisons. This was warned by the Argentine priest José Miguel Marengo, prison chaplain in Peru.
Marengo participated in Bogotá in the continental meeting of the Dynamic Team of Prison Pastoral Care, which brought together national leaders and representatives of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (Celam) from August 31 to September 4.
In an interview with ADN Celam, Marengo stated that prisons are a mirror of social inequalities and defended a pastoral care that, in addition to accompanying, has the capacity to influence institutions.
Prisons that reflect social wounds
Marengo, who also supports the prison pastoral care of the diocese of Carabayllo, spoke about several of the problems facing the penitentiary systems in the region: overcrowded prisons, militarization, harsher penalties, lowering the age of criminal responsibility, and corruption.
“No, they are rights,” emphasized Marengo when questioning that the fundamental guarantees of people deprived of liberty are presented as concessions or benefits. The priest thus called not to lose sight of the social causes that are also behind the penitentiary crisis.
“When a person ends up in prison, it’s because someone has failed—society, the family, the school, the government, the Church—someone has been absent,” he said.
A pastoral that must also have an impact
For the priest of the Trinitarian Order, the mission of the Prison Pastoral transcends the walls of prisons and religious accompaniment, as it includes families, penitentiary staff, and advocacy before state agencies.
Furthermore, he defined the Prison Pastoral as “the image, the presence of the Church in the world of the prison” and highlighted that its work also includes accompanying processes before justice institutions when people deprived of liberty are left without follow-up or face difficulties in accessing their rights.
The religious defended a pastoral presence that comprehensively addresses the needs of those who are deprived of liberty. “It is not only the spiritual plane, but it is also about seeking the whole reality”, he stated, explaining a mission focused on dignity and integral human development.
Training and continental articulation
One of the main results of the meeting was the launching of the Continental Dynamizing Team, which will seek to unite the efforts of prison pastorals in Latin America, strengthen the training of its agents, and promote common actions in favor of people deprived of liberty.
The specialist called to strengthen the place of the Prison Pastoral within the dioceses, guarantee resources for its work and expand the training of pastoral agents, many of whom are volunteers.
In the face of the difficulties this pastoral care faces, the priest asked to maintain the commitment and to delve into where exclusion is deeper. “We must not be afraid to leave the shore, the tranquility and go deeper in,” he asserted.
Finally, the priest placed the accompaniment of people deprived of liberty at the center of the Christian commitment. “Remember the prisoners as if you were imprisoned with them,” he recalled, and assured that this sensitivity “is a gift from God. It is not a personal option.”
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