Last April, my husband and I visited a prison in Globe, Arizona—a powerful experience that brought to life everything I had been working toward and learning about for years. I’d spent countless hours corresponding with incarcerated pen pals, exploring the complexities of incarceration in my writing, and delving into courses on restorative justice and trauma. Still, I didn’t know what to expect as we walked into the event space, where 65 incarcerated men stood in two long lines, forming a tunnel with raised arms to welcome us. As we ran through, the men cheered, high-fived us, and smiled warmly. My apprehension soon disappeared, and I was able to enjoy a full day of connecting with these men, learning about their life stories, and realizing I had far more in common with them than I would have otherwise imagined.
In Pope Francis’ Bull of Indiction published ahead of the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025, he calls us all to be “tangible signs of hope” to people experiencing hardship of any kind. Specifically, he mentions prisoners who are treated harshly and deprived of freedom, affection, and, often, respect. He calls on governments to restore hope by granting amnesty or pardon to those who were incarcerated and helping them reintegrate back into their communities. As for the faithful, he urges us to demand “dignified conditions for those in prison, respect for their human rights and above all the abolition of the death penalty.”
The practice of a jubilee year, called every 50 years, has its roots in Jewish tradition and Hebrew scriptures. The word jubilee comes from the Hebrew word jobel, which refers to the ram’s horn used as a trumpet to indicate the beginning of a jubilee year. In the Book of Leviticus, instructions are given to “hallow the fiftieth year” and “proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants” (25:10). Liberation and consolation are two vital components of the jubilee year, including freedom for enslaved Israelites and rest for the land and God’s people.
Echoing the words of the prophet Isaiah, Jesus begins his mission in the Gospel of Luke by announcing that the spirit of the Lord has anointed him to “bring good news to the poor,” “proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,” “set free those who are oppressed,” and “proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (4:18). Pope Boniface VIII adopted the practice of the jubilee year into the Catholic Church in 1300, and today the jubilee year still stands as a reminder of God’s providence, mercy, and liberation.
In Pope Francis’ book The Gospel of Luke: A Spiritual and Pastoral Reading (Orbis Books), he emphasizes that the gospel is not just about our personal relationship with God or individual acts of charity. Instead, the gospel is about the kingdom of God, which we all must actively work to build. God created humanity to “have an impact on society.” With this in mind, Pope Francis’ call for the jubilee year in 2025 is particularly apt for U.S. Catholics to hear and follow, especially concerning people who are oppressed, incarcerated, and outcasts in society.
Mass incarceration is a uniquely American phenomenon. It is so widespread that half of all Americans have a family member who is or has been incarcerated. At any given time, nearly 2 million people are kept in cages. Our nation will only rid itself of this inhumane scourge and reverse course when Americans change their hearts and minds toward incarcerated people, formerly incarcerated people, and the criminal legal system. Locking people up and separating them from their loved ones, families, and communities—and then discriminating against the formerly incarcerated in housing, employment, and public assistance—has been shown to be a failed way to end recidivism and reduce crime.
As people of faith, we’re called to recognize the innate dignity of every human being that can never be taken away. With that dignity in mind, we must advocate for a more just and humane response to harm in our society and continue to bring God’s light, mercy, and liberation to the loneliest corners of jail and prison cells throughout our country.
There are ways for each of us to work to restore hope to the incarcerated and work to bring them bring freedom. In addition to visiting prisons in person, anyone can become a pen pal to a person who is incarcerated. When I attended the prison event, there were many men who had not had one visitor or phone call, some for over a decade. Becoming pen pals with incarcerated people is a way to bridge the gap and extend a human connection to people who are dehumanized by prisons and literally held in cages. The Innocence Project has recommended Letters for Liberation (formerly known as Abolition Apostles), Wire of Hope, Prison Correspondence Project, and Black and Pink for people who want to connect with a pen pal.
Another way to literally help a person gain their freedom is to donate to a reputable bail fund network such as The Bail Project or National Bail Fund Network. The United States and the Philippines are the only two countries in the world that allow for-profit bail bond operations. In our country, this is a matter of justice because the poorest people are disproportionately incarcerated while they are legally innocent until proven guilty, while people with means can pay for their freedom. Even three days in jail can have a devastating impact on a person’s life and make them more susceptible to losing their employment, housing, financial stability, and even custody of their children. Studies have shown that people charged with a crime and released on their own recognizance are just as statistically likely to appear in court as those who post bail. Pretrial detention increases the likelihood of conviction due to innocent people being induced to plead guilty in order to be released from detention; it also increases the length of sentences. Bail fund networks work to literally free people from jails and connect them to support services so they can show up to all their court appearances. Learning about restorative justice and how it can be practiced in our schools, communities, churches, and the criminal legal system is another way to make lasting change in our society.
In the Jubilee Year 2025, let us take to heart Pope Francis’ call to action and respond with compassion and determination. Restoring hope to the incarcerated is not just a lofty ideal but a concrete step toward building a more merciful and just society. May we all listen and heed God’s call for us to work to bring the gospel to the poor, liberty and respect to those incarcerated and oppressed—and to build the kingdom of God.
This article also appears in the February 2025 issue of U.S. Catholic (Vol. 90, No. 2, pages 27-28). Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
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