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Charleston, S.C., Feb 4, 2020 / 03:14 am (CNA).- A prison ministry in South Carolina brought five inmates into the Catholic Church this winter, with the help of a dedicated team of ministers offering catechetical formation and sacrament preparation.

The inmates at Perry Correctional Institution, near Pelzer, South Carolina, had been attending RCIA in the prison since last July.

Three of the men were baptized at a Dec. 10 Mass at the facility with Bishop Robert Guglielmone of Charleston, while two others had already been baptized in Protestant denominations and were brought into full communion with the Catholic Church.

Also at the Mass were Deacon John Leininger, the outside coordinator for and Father Rhett Williams, who handles the sacramental responsibilities at Perry.

Different inmates were attracted through different aspects of the the faith, Father Williams told CNA, “whether it’s the history of [Church], whether it’s the sacraments, or whether it’s God working through the community.”

He emphasized the importance of the prison’s catechetical classes, which were able “to put a little flesh on the bones of what the faith is and what [is] God’s grace and how it is that he works.”

Inmates were allowed to invite family members and fellow prisoners to the Mass. The Catholic Miscellany, the diocesan newspaper, said those receiving the sacraments were deeply touched by the support they received.

“So many loving, caring people attended to watch me being welcomed into the Church. I truly felt the spirit of God throughout the Mass,” said Timmy, one of the inmates receiving confirmation.

“[Confirmation was] the most important day of my adult life. The understanding of the role Christ plays in my life has taken new shape. I have come to love the Catholic faith, and the more I learn, the better my life becomes,” said James, another inmate.

Fr. Williams attributed this year’s success largely to the team assembled by Deacon Leininger, who has been involved with the prison for the last four and half years. He said the deacon and his team have developed a consistent ministry, where the inmates can rely on the volunteers and the presence of the Church.

Leininger also stressed the importance of consistent volunteers and commitments made by the ministry.

“Now, we’re up to about six volunteers. So generally there’s almost always two volunteers…And so even if somebody doesn’t make it [as] planned, you still have somebody showing up. So consistency, the men know it’s going to be there and… they feel welcomed,” he told CNA.

He added that the ministry tries to avoid placing an undue focus on sin and repentance. “I’ve been there when other churches have come in and they’re preaching out in that way, and we’re just trying to live with them and talk about God’s word,” he said.

Leininger first began his work in prison ministry at a county jail more than 10 years ago. He worked there for six years, but the inmates there had sentences of no longer than a year, and he wanted a ministry where he could develop stronger relationships over time.

During the last couple of years, he has become more serious about prison ministry, retiring from his teaching job at Clemson University and entering the diaconate. Now, he leads the prison ministry for Perry, managing the schedules for priests and volunteers, and coordinating activities.

The  ministry is divided into two weekly commitments – Thursday Mass and Friday catechesis. Mass is celebrated by alternating priests: Father McClellan from St Andrew in Clemson, Father Dwight Longenecker from Our Lady of the Rosary in Greenville, Father Patrick Tuttle from St. Anthony of Padua in Greenville, and Father Williams, who is also the parochial vicar at St. Mary Magdalene in Simpsonville.

A specially selected inmate known as an “inside coordinator” sets up the altar, passes out rosaries or Bibles if requested, and obtains permission slips for men to exit their cells for the service. The attendance for Mass can range between 8 and 18 men.

“We have a number of people that come to Mass on Thursday that aren’t Catholic either,” said Leininger. “They’ll come in just like in a regular church, cross their arms, and get a blessing. Now that was happening last year, and then we asked some of these men if they want to get brought into the church. Then we started a formal catechism with them.”

The weekly catechetical classes are two hours long. Similar to RCIA, they study a variety of theological topics and sometimes watch Christian movies on the lives of saints. Among other lessons, Leininger said the class reviews the Eucharist and the history of the Church, including discussions on the Church councils and major heresies.

The class is also centered on prayer, he said. At a recent session, Leininger printed out worksheets for a novena and initiated a nine-day series of prayers for the sanctity of life.

Catechesis in prisons does pose its own set of obstacles, he noted, and it often takes longer than other RCIA programs. He said there are times when the prisons are on lockdown and outside religious groups cannot enter or prisoners get sent back to their cells early before the meeting has finished.

There are also inmates who transfer from another prison during the catechesis process but have to start all over because RCIA can differ depending on the institution. He said this will be a point of discussion at an upcoming meeting of prison volunteers. The hope is to unify the process enough that someone who transfers will not have to restart the program.

Leininger said prison ministry has been a powerful experience for him, witnessing the joy and life this ministry brings to inmates. He recalled one instance when a prison lockdown resulted in him and the inside coordinator being the only people present at a catechetical class.

After talking for about an hour, the inmate – who was serving a life sentence – told him, “The two hours I get to spend with the Catholic Church each week are when I feel more at home than any other time of the week.”

“That one statement keeps me going – when I take an hour drive to get there, and then they won’t let me in, but I’ll still come back the next week,” he said. “If I don’t get in, I know they’re missing it more than I am and it keeps me going every week.”

Fr. Williams stressed that while the inmates in prison may have made mistakes in their lives, their circumstances do not detract from their value – or their need for the sacraments as “spiritual food for the journey.”

“There’s nothing greater that we can give than our love and attention [and] God’s grace working through us to help them see themselves for who they are and where they need to go. We’re all sinners and need to draw closer to God,” he said.

“So no matter whether we are in prison, no matter whether we’re in an elderly home, no matter whether we’re here in the parish or in the home, the sacraments are given for all to guide all of us there.”

[…]

Denver Newsroom, Nov 14, 2020 / 03:45 am (CNA).- In December 2019, Bishop James Conley of the Diocese of Lincoln announced he was going on a medical leave of absence.

Citing diagnoses of depression and anxiety, as well as chronic insomnia and debilitating tinnitus (a constant ringing of the ears), the bishop said in a public statement that he would be receiving psychological as well as medical treatment.

It had taken him months to get to a point where he realized he needed help.

“It really goes back to the summer of 2018, so, long before I finally got to the point where I asked for some time off,” Conley told CNA.

“There were the difficulties in the Church with regard to the misconduct of priests…(including) here in my diocese,” he said. That summer was also when the McCarrick scandal broke, and when the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report came out.

Besides abuse scandals, Conley also had to close some diocesan schools that had been “running in the red for a number of years. And that’s always a difficult decision to make. It was the right decision, but it was a hard decision.”

There was also a priest of the diocese, younger than Conley, who died around that time.  “There were a number of other things that kind of mounted,” Conley said. “I think that started it.”

As the problems mounted, Conley felt personally responsible for them all, as a bishop and as someone who cared about the people in his diocese.

“I (felt I) was responsible for all of this and that I had to try to fix it myself instead of surrendering to God,” he said.

But the physical and mental symptoms started compounding. He couldn’t sleep. He started losing interest in things he had once enjoyed. A constant ringing began in his ears. He felt overwhelmed.

“I used to tell people that great prayer that Saint John XXIII supposedly would say at night during the Second Vatican Council: ‘Lord, it’s your Church. I’m going to bed.’ And I wasn’t able to take my own advice,” he said. “I just was getting ground down.”

Conley said that while he never was tempted to use unhealthy coping mechanisms, like drugs or alcohol, he was worried what would happen if he continued to feel so anxious and overwhelmed.

In the spring of 2019, Conley went to Mayo Clinic and was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. He said he tried to rest, worry less, and go to counseling while maintaining his duties as a bishop, but it wasn’t working.

“I was trying to fix myself and as time went on, I realized that I couldn’t fix myself while I was still on the job, so to speak.”

Conley sought the counsel of some of his friends, including Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City; Bishop James Wall of Gallup, New Mexico; Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix; and Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha.

With the help of these friends, Conley presented his case before the U.S. Nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, during a private meeting at the November 2019 assembly of the U.S. bishops’ conference.

“And the nuncio said, ‘Well, I think you need some time off to get some professional help.’”

Until then, Conley had not even considered that a leave of absence was possible for a bishop.

“I was called by God to be a successor of the Apostles, we don’t have any record of the Apostles taking time off,” Conley said. “So I just didn’t think that a bishop could do that. And that somehow, that would be a sign of weakness or failure, or not being able to fulfill (my) duties. When in reality, we are body and soul. Grace builds upon nature. And so we need to take care of our physical and mental wellbeing in order to be good at whatever we’re doing.”

Conley said Pierre was very supportive, and told him to obtain a doctor’s note that could be sent along with the request to Pope Francis, since bishops are under obedience to the Holy Father.

By December 2019, Conley’s leave had been approved. On December 13, he announced the leave to his diocese. In the announcement, Conley said he had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and that he was taking a mental health leave.

“I wanted to be honest, and I wanted to be truthful about why I was leaving. If I’m going to leave, that’s a big deal. And I didn’t want to keep that a secret and leave it to people to speculate what (the reason for leaving) was,” he said.

Conley said he was overwhelmed by the positive and supportive response.

“I received a lot of letters and cards and notes, not only from people who I knew and who were writing to support me, but from people I didn’t even know, who themselves had struggled with some mental health issue, or (a relative) or some friend of theirs had,” he said.

“And they were so grateful to me for being so open about it and transparent. They thanked me for talking about it, because of the stigma that’s surrounding mental illness,” he said. “And that was helpful for me, comforting for me to know that I wasn’t the only one, and that I wasn’t alone in this.”

Shortly after the announcement, Conley left to stay in Phoenix, where he was able to receive treatment from a psychologist, a psychiatrist, and medical doctors, as well as spiritual direction.

Three months later, the rest of the world went on a sort of leave of absence as well, as the coronavirus pandemic caused national and global shutdowns. It made Conley’s recovery more difficult, he said.

“That didn’t help…the isolation, when I was down in Phoenix,” he said. He had a few good friends, particularly a young family, who were very helpful, he added. The couple were both former students of his at the University of Dallas, and they now have five kids, and would frequently invite Conley to their house.

“But it was just a strain, then, to see how the whole pandemic played out,” Conley said.

Conley said it was important that he had Catholic counselors and doctors to work with throughout his treatment, so that they were all on the same page about how his faith was a part of his recovery.

During recovery, Conley said he learned to re-frame his thinking, and to more fully trust God, as well as his staff and collaborators, with the responsibilities of a bishop. He re-learned the importance of sleep, healthy eating, exercise, and recreation as part of a well-balanced life.

“Because we’re body and soul that we need balance and we need a certain order in our life to help us stay healthy,” he said.

There can sometimes be a stigma against mental illness and treatment among some Christian circles, where the illness is seen as a sign of spiritual weakness that can be cured with more prayer.

But Conley said seeking help – including psychological, spiritual, and mental recovery – is an act of surrender to the will of God.

“One Scripture passage that jumps out is John 15, ‘Apart from the Lord, you can do nothing.’ And that’s what that I think can lead to mental illnesses, that you think it’s all up to you, that you have to solve all the problems in your life or in the world,” Conley said.

He said he has been so open with his experience because he wants to encourage others “to not hesitate to get help, when you need it. Don’t be embarrassed, or don’t feel like you’re weak or something, if you try to get help,” he said.

On Thursday, the Diocese of Lincoln announced that Conley would be returning from his leave of absence and resuming his duties on November 13, after 11 months of leave and recovery.

Conley said he is looking forward to being back with the people of the diocese, to continue helping foster vocations, and to promote Catholic education. He said he is excited about a new pro-life crisis pregnancy center being built across the street from the Planned Parenthood in Lincoln. He added that he’s also going to start thinking about evangelization post-COVID, because he fears that the Church may have lost some people from the pews during the lockdowns and extended dispensations.

But he’s going to ease back in, and he’s going to try to keep the things he learned in recovery at the forefront of his mind.

“I’m not going to hit the ground running, I’m hitting the ground walking,” he said.

He said he’s going to pace himself, and make sure he is exercising and getting good sleep and taking time to do things he enjoys. 

“You don’t live to work, you need to work to live. And some people, especially in America today, we have this mentality of pragmatism or utilitarianism, where you’re working 18 hours a day…that’s no way to live life.”

He added that he would encourage anyone struggling, particularly due to the isolation of the ongoing pandemic, to reach out and get help.

“Don’t hesitate to seek help. And especially, if you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed. Being disconnected really is a source of pain. We’re meant to be in community and so I would say that if people are feeling disconnected in any way that they reach out and get help.”

“You’re not alone,” he added. “There are people out there that can help.”

[…]

Washington D.C., Nov 28, 2018 / 05:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops released a letter last week urging the Senate to pass the bipartisan First Step Act, which aims to “improve the lives of thousands of peop… […]