Call to Family, Community, and Participation

This Catholic Social Teaching is about creating a space that fosters everyone's well-being and contributions to a greater society. When individuals are incarcerated, they are taken away from their families, friends, and communities. Without these relationships, the world becomes far more disconnected. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) recognizes that “victims are often ignored, offenders are often not rehabilitated, and many communities have lost their sense of security.” By following this teaching, we can unite together and build a better society.

This Catholic Social Teaching is about putting the needs of those who are underprivileged first. Because recidivism and imprisonment affect low-income and minority communities the most, this proves to be a deep injustice. A survey showed that compared to the national poverty rate of 11.8%, 57% of men and 72% of women in prison are impoverished. With fewer people in the United States suffering from poverty, compared to the many locked away in prisons, the United States, in particular, is not living up to the Catholic Social Teaching of reaching out towards the poor. If better opportunities are presented to the poor and vulnerable, such as rehab for drug users and housing for the homeless, the prison population will decrease and fewer people will commit the crimes that lead them into the prison’s cycle.