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An Invitation to Justice

An Invitation from the Interfaith Committee on Chaplaincy in the Correctional Service of Canada

Compared with many other countries, Canada is a peaceful and safe place to live. We cherish that peace and safety. At the same time, we are concerned about the growing level of public outrage over crime and its effects on our society. We see the pain of the many victims of crime. We feel called to look for justice that deals with crime honestly and fairly, justice that leads to the healing of individuals, families and society as a whole. The festering wounds of fear and outrage harm the well-being and the fabric of our society.

The growth in our prison populations shows that we are relying too heavily on incarceration to solve our criminal and social problems. While we acknowledge the real need to protect ourselves from certain offenders who pose immediate risk to the community, punitive imprisonment is an expensive and rigorous form of justice that is clearly ineffective as a deterrent; the level of recidivism also demonstrates the lack of healing and rehabilitation for offenders. Victims' needs for healing and safety are not being addressed. Overly simplistic responses to these challenges which are rooted, primarily, in a desire to appear harsh on criminals will not result in the desired changes, since society as a whole is only served when offenders, their victims and the wider community experience healing. Our present practice of justice is not working in our land, and the pain and the fear are growing.

We know we are not alone in discerning the need for a new direction. We affirm and encourage the efforts of many in government, those who study criminal justice, and the caring citizens who work for a concept of justice that restores, satisfies, transforms and heals. We affirm the principles of Restorative Justice, rooted in our sacred scriptures and traditions that have been long neglected but are now being rediscovered and cherished anew by our people.

Even though we represent diverse communities of faith, we find a degree of unity in our common quest for the establishment of just, caring and compassionate societies rooted in relationships marked by health and wholeness. For that reason, we have a shared vision that it is necessary to move beyond primarily punitive models of justice when crime and wrongdoing occur. Instead, we believe that it is necessary to seek a form of restorative and transformative justice that brings wholeness, healing and restoration to the victims of crime, to the offenders, and to the wider community.

We make this affirmation because Restorative Justice allows the pursuit of more creative and satisfying solutions. It changes the focus from retribution to healing the wounds of the victims, the offenders and the communities, that have been caused by crime. We encourage the efforts of governments at all levels to apply Restorative Justice through programs such as Victims' Services, Victim-Offender Mediation, diversions, alternative and circle sentencing, restitution and community-based prevention, treatment and reintegration programs. At present, the need is far greater than the provision of these services; many more programs and projects must be developed to replace incarceration with alternative, more humane and effective measures.

We encourage all people to join the journey of hope and healing to which Restorative Justice calls us. We act and pray for restored communities where relationships between people reflect God's created plan. It is a challenging and brave journey, from fear to hope, from revenge to reconciliation, from hatred to forgiveness. Restorative Justice never minimizes, excuses or forgets the effects of crime. Forgiveness and reconciliation represent redeeming love and a decision to move through the pain--a decision that in no way discounts the enormity of the wrongdoing.

Restorative Justice can help reduce the level of pain so that healing may begin to take place, but it should never be forced on anyone. If it is embraced freely, it can have deep and lasting effects on individuals and communities. Our goal is to seek Shalom, harmony and security for all, with reconciliation and healing replacing revenge and pain.

We believe that the search for true and satisfying justice is forever linked to the spiritual growth of all concerned. The path of over-incarceration, of a vengeful spirit and a punitive mentality, can only dry up the soul of our country.

As an Interfaith Committee, we call upon the faith communities and the Governments of Canada to embrace Restorative Justice as a profound means for healing attitudes and lives. We believe that Restorative Justice can and must be applied to a wide range of cases, not just those involving lesser crimes that ordinarily would not reach the courts.

We recognize the magnitude of the task before us all. The challenge includes dealing with the economic and political pressures that are currently widening the gap between the rich and the poor. The challenge involves taking a hard look at the lack of preventive measures and the range of economic and political forces affecting our whole society.

Justice that restores needs the support of governments and a receptive, understanding and compassionate public to create the conditions necessary for it to blossom.

We pledge ourselves to the work of creating, in our places of worship, our homes and our communities, environments where Restorative Justice may truly flourish. We invite you, the governments and faith communities of Canada, to join us in this important work of moving our country toward a more creative and satisfying justice for the good of all Canadians.

Restorative Justice Week 2007
Contact us: Sandra Duguay
Executive Secretary Interfaith Committee Correctional Service of Canada
duguayls@shaw.ca
© Interfaith Committee on Chaplaincy in the Correctional Service of Canada 2006

 

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