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To: Clergy & religious, parish/mission staff, parish communicators, parish ministry coordinators, directors of faith formation, campus ministers, social action ministers, respect life ministers, prison ministers
From: Jayna Hoffacker, associate director of Justice and Peace Ministries
As we all watch Pope Francis engage in a mission of forgiveness and mercy with indigenous communities in Canada, we are perhaps reminded of the spaces in our own communities where healing is needed.
Restorative justice can offer us a framework to work toward that healing. Through a focus on repairing relationships and centering the voices and experiences of those most directly impacted by harm, restorative approaches seek to repair that harm and restore and transform communities.
Catholic Mobilizing Network, a national organization in collaboration with the USCCB that focuses on restorative justice and abolishing the death penalty, offers an engagement guide for use in parishes, schools and other Catholic community settings. Paths of Renewed Encounter invites individuals and groups to embrace healing approaches to crime, harm and injustice while reflecting on the unique ways that Catholic ministries and teachings can shepherd processes that transform relationships, communities and systems.
The guide is available at no cost as an online resource, hard copies are also available to download or order.
Click here to view the Paths of Renewed Encounter engagement guide.
For more information on restorative justice initiatives in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, please contact me at jhoffacker@archatl.com or 404-920-7898. We also invite you to visit the Restorative Justice resource page on the archdiocesan website.