ARTICLES

Christ Behind Bars

Lay Volunteers Bring Christ's Word and Body to Jailed Catholic Women

BY STANFORD ESPEDAL

When Catholic women end up in jail, can they find hope? Can God bring good out of their bad choices? Will the Church help? A group of volunteers is determined that the answer to these questions will be "Yes." These women and men go to Las Colinas Women's Detention Facility in Santee to bring the women the Word of God, and Catholic women Holy Communion.

I spoke to some of these volunteers recently — Carol and Jack Zolezzi, a husband and wife team who go in on Saturdays; Martha, who serves on Wednesdays; and Therese More, the team coordinator, who goes in whatever day she's needed. This is what they shared with me:

Therese, you're the team coordinator. What is your role as coordinator?

I guess you could say I fill the holes. I make the assignments as to who goes on what days, so that all of the day's services are filled. We go in on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. There are 17 people on the Las Colinas team. I make the assignments one to two months in advance and submit them to the chaplain at Las Colinas.

Is the chaplain Catholic?

Therese: No she's not. Chaplain Vi Hoye belongs to Calvary Baptist Church. She's quite ecumenical. She's a volunteer like us, but full time. She's got two assistants, Jackie and Barbara. She's there from 7:30 in the morning, takes a break in the afternoon, then comes back and leads Bible studies at night. She also develops resources for these women upon their discharge; does personal counseling and arranges things if there's a death in the family on the outside or some other situation where an inmate might need a temporary release.

Is there a priest who does chaplaincy work there?

Therese: Yes. Father Michael Cunnane from Guardian Angels in Santee goes bi-weekly to hear confessions and do personal counseling. He does not say Mass. He used to, but decided it was not the best use of his time.

What do you do when you check in at the facility?

Therese: We show our identification, and our names are checked against the daily roster. We sign in and get our badges. We also have to submit a copy of everything we bring in on any day to the captain. Some things like rosaries are forbidden. At one time we could bring rosaries; now they're contraband. You've got to understand that these women have tons of time on their hands and become creative beyond what you can imagine in how things might be used. We can bring printed materials like pamphlets, prayer booklets and holy cards, but they need to be screened because they could be used to smuggle drugs into the facility. Like I said, the women get very creative.

How long do you have for your services?

Therese: On Mondays we do two groups. We're supposed to have 55 minutes for a service, but that's seldom the case because of problems with women getting out; sometimes we only get 15 minutes.

What kind of problems?

Therese: Well, we arrive a half-hour before our allotted service time. Today I'll arrive at 12:30 for the service to begin at 1:05. The women are in lock-down during this time. The call goes out that there will be a bilingual Catholic service, but the lock-down might be prolonged because of a disagreement or ruckus in the cell block. Or there might be linen exchange or medical call or commissary call; all kinds of things could occur to prohibit the women from coming at 1:05, so they might not get there till 1:40. And we have to dismiss them at 1:55. These are all things beyond our control. We have to be flexible.

Will you describe the facility where you do the service?

Therese: I go to the B House, which is for serious felons; the briefing room is a 20 by 20 classroom in a high traffic area so the people going by outside can see what's going on through the windows. It only holds 17 people. There's a blackboard. I take in a very tender picture of the Blessed Mother holding the infant Jesus and hang it on a screw that's extended. I also set up a 20 inch crucifix with a bloody body of Christ on it. I use the blackboard for teaching.

Carol: We go in on the first Saturday of every month and have two services; one on the north side and another on the south. Each service is about an hour. On the north side we have a room that's called the chapel which seats 32. It's really a multi-purpose room. There's a TV and VCR if we want to show a film. On the south side we go into the library which seats 20. For about a six-month period we were conducting services outside. That was terrible because the girls are so easily distracted by all the commotion around them.

How do you do the service?

Martha: Do you want to know how I do it? Before I go, I take my pyx and pick up the Eucharist at Our Lady of Grace. Then I pray before the Blessed Sacrament. On my way I pray that the Lord would send his angel ahead to prepare the hearts of those he wants to be there; I ask him to prepare me, to give me the words he wants me to say. And then I ask him to get me out of the way so that the service is his. I go on Wednesdays when we minister to more of the hard-core girls; those on their way to state prison in Chowchilla. We get three groups for a half hour each. We greet them and say we're glad to see you all. Then I ask how many are Catholic and explain that it's a Catholic service but that everyone is welcome. If you belong to another Christian denomination it's the same God the Father, the same Jesus, the same Holy Spirit. We have much in common but there are also things that separate us. If you have not made Confession and First Communion in the Catholic Church then I can't give you Communion. If you have, and you feel in your heart that you are clean before God then you may receive.

Therese: We make it very clear that only those who are baptized, accept the Catholic faith, have made confession, and are in the state of grace can receive Communion. We ask for a show of hands and take note of each girl who will be receiving that day.

Martha: I begin as in the Order of Mass with the Penitential Rite: "I confess to Almighty God, etc." Then we do the readings from the previous Sunday. I explain as I go along. After the teaching we pray together, taking their prayer requests. Then we say the Lord's Prayer and distribute Holy Communion. At the end we give everyone a blessing with holy water.

Carol: Our routine is a little different. We use the readings for the Sunday following. We ask for volunteers to read. We welcome them and say they do not have to be Catholic in order to attend and keep everything we brought in for them, like prayer booklets. I let them know we are very strict about reception of Holy Communion. I tell them they must be Catholic and in a state of grace to receive. Jack then takes over and explains what it means to be in a state of grace. He also tells them about their opportunities to go to confession with Father Cunnane. We start the service with prayer; the Our Father because everyone knows that; the Hail Mary, and an invocation to the Holy Spirit. Jack is extremely well versed in the Scriptures. He usually talks about the Epistle, and I usually do the Gospel. I have a central theme that I weave into everything; that they are children of God and called to be saints. They need that true self-esteem. I try to weave it into their everyday lives, showing what they can still be and do with their lives. Before Communion we have them recite the Act of Contrition. Jack stands guard to make sure the Host is consumed. We also give a blessing with holy oil to each girl in addition to holy water. Sometimes because of time constraints we give Communion first; then do the readings.

I also have a card I give them with my name, P.O. Box and Catholic Ministries written on it. I tell them if they write to me I will write back to them. If they are sentenced to any of California's finest and they write to me, I will write to them. If they have children and want me to furnish rosaries or write to them I will do that. This is all cleared and done in accordance with strict facility guidelines.

Martha: I've found that most of the girls come from dysfunctional families. They may have been baptized, but they haven't been catechized. Some may have even gone to Catholic school but the instruction didn't really take root in their heart. So I begin with explaining God's love for them. Also, I find that even though they may have done some really bad things, they don't know what sin is.

So how do you explain sin?

Martha: I ask, "How many of you know the Ten Commandments?" A few may raise their hands, but most just hang their heads. Then I explain them as fast as I can and ask, "Now how does this relate to us? What things do we put before God?" And so we go through each of them. The chaplain told me once, "Don't ever stop teaching the Ten Commandments." I said, "I might get in trouble with the diocese since it's not part of the Liturgy of the Word." And she said "You have no idea how much good it's doing."

Do any of the women convert in jail?

Martha: We've had Protestant girls ask to go to confession with a priest. I told them that Father Cunane would be glad to receive them. I also take confession preparation pamphlets to hand out to all who come. Often I explain various points of the Faith such as the Eucharist as the real body and blood of Jesus; the Pope as the successor of Peter; and they say, "Wow, I never understood that before." I really think there are some who will become Catholic when they go home!"

Those wishing to become volunteers for detention ministry may contact the diocesan coordinator, Jim Walsh, at (858) 490-8375.

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