Restorative justice is a philosophy or approach to harm that focuses on repairing relationships and is consistent with Catholic teaching. Restorative practices can be applied in various types of ministry to the incarcerated as well as individuals and communities harmed by crime.
Restorative Justice is a way of understanding crime in terms of the people and relationships that were harmed, rather than the law that was broken. It is rooted in values of human dignity, right-relationship, healing, accountability, and encounter, consistent with Catholic Social Teaching.
Restorative practices are formal or informal processes that allow those most directly impacted by a crime (victims, offenders, and communities) to determine ways to repair the harm that was done. Examples of restorative justice include circle process, victim-offender dialogue, and community conferencing.
Some outcomes that are typically associated with restorative justice processes include:
Catholic Mobilizing Network
Adapted by Caitlin Morneau
Catholic Extension in partnership with Institute for Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago
Catholic Mobilizing Network
The Archdiocese of San Francisco: Restorative Justice Ministry
By the Jesuit Restorative Justice Initiative (JRJI)
By the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative
By David Matzko McCarthy, Trudy D. Conway, and Vicky Schieber, Editors
2023 Catholic Prison Ministries Coalition. All Rights Reserved.
