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1 Re-Imagining Prison Ministry
I was born in the Netherlands at the end of the 1970s. In retrospect, I delayed a long time before giving in to my fervent desire of one day making music in a prison. Like Johnny Cash did at Folsom State Prison in California on January 13, 1968. As a student in Dublin, at the beginning of the new millennium, I visited a security prison for the first time with some Irish friends. Our primary intention was to give prisoners a sense of hope with art, theatre, and a sound of strength, with a “Divine Rock ‘n’ Roll” to empower them. In fact, at first I didn’t think it was possible to live between these extremes – amid academia, music, art, and prison ministry – or that I would get the chance. Still, it was much later in Germany that I got the opportunity as a prison chaplain to experience the immediate bearing of the spiritual in music, poetry and art on the life of people behind bars. But why prisoners? Why musical and artistic empowerment in prisons? In exploring these questions for my research at Trinity College Dublin,1 I simultaneously initiated a prison music project called “Divine Concern,”2 and edited with my colleague several books produced in collaboration with the incarcerated.3 Our aim was to figure out how prison ministry could be re-imagined and so be more effective for the inmates. The motif for a creative and lively scholarly engagement was born.
Before writing this book, I reflected on my daily practice in prison chaplaincy. I meditated on my own personal experiences of meeting the incarcerated. The dynamic was often a case of one step forward, two steps back. And I had to guard myself against common misunderstandings in the Church: the thought that this kind of empowerment theology would be a mere worldly enterprise and not an authentic communication of Christian faith. So from the beginning, my theological quest touched on deep spiritual questions of confidence, trust, and on a strong feeling for humanity and for people, for their aesthetics, and for encountering the diversity of (sub)cultures, religions and worldviews. This palette and the colourful movement of human existence has become an inescapable and necessary authenticity, especially in ministry today. As a result the goal of my spiritual and academic journey in two German prisons, and of studying Karl Rahner’s theological anthropology, was to find a contemporary theology of prison ministry – a theological passageway that also became a monograph.
2 The Struggle with Prison Literature
The prison literature is vast, to say the least. It has significantly increased in the past decade and has become a field worthy of investigation. Reading in this genre I came across experiences and insights from the most heartfelt, deep-thinking and creative authors. The struggle in finding the right prison literature, however, was fraught with difficulties. From the moment I got into the matter and was appointed prison chaplain, I wondered what could help me theologically and practically to re-imagine prison ministry for today? I submerged myself into many more books and articles about the subject. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, a 1975 book by French philosopher Michel Foucault, was one of them.4 His argument that the development of the western system of prisons, police and legal hierarchies have “shifted the focus of social control from our bodies to our souls” was indeed persuasive. So was David Skarbek’s exploration, The Puzzle of Prison Order, which draws on economics and a vast empirical literature on legal systems around the world.5 These analyses of social and theoretical mechanisms in the penal systems, although arresting and valuable, were not the kind of theoretical frameworks I was looking for. I searched for something that would restore the inspiration the world has lost. A ministry that would bring us back to a sure and meaningful way of life. A renewal of faith with an urge to move beyond the prison walls that are erected in our hearts.
Another logical figure I could have focused on in more detail, would have been the German pastor-theologian and former prisoner Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I mention his work in this book a few times but decided not to repeat myself, as I dedicated two long Chapters on Bonhoeffer and his Letters and Papers from Prison in my monograph The Existential Philosophy of Etty Hillesum: An Analysis of her Diaries and Letters (Brill, 2014).6 Next to Bonhoeffer, I consulted the Swiss Calvinist theologian Karl Barth with his 1959 published prison sermons, “Deliverance to the Captives” (Den Gefangenen Befreiung),7 which is a stimulating exemplar of a theological mind engaging in prison chaplaincy. Barth takes the reader behind prison bars with homilies originally delivered to the inmates of the prison in Basel. In shaping the anthropological explorations for this book, the rather “unRahnerian” anthropology of Barth might have supplied a useful contrast precisely around the theme of nature and grace.8 However, it turned out to be a theological discussion that would have exceeded the scope of this study. Similarly, there are other more contemporary authors and subjects that could have been integrated, credibly, if they had resonated more with the theme of theological empowerment. One could think of the works of Amy Levad, Andrew Skotnicki, Jason S. Sexton, Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, among others.9
For this book and for our prison work, surprisingly, I found answers, wisdom, and truth in two twentieth century Jewish figures, Viktor E. Frankl, and Etty Hillesum, and one Russian Orthodox, Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn. The issues of race and migration,10 war and terror, were as present to them as they are to us today, since they provide momentous insights for twenty-first century ministry. Of course people challenged me on this: Are concentration camps relevant and/or suitable for thinking about prisons today? Does insight from inside horrific places showcase the demands for twenty-first century prison ministry? The link is rather unusual but as former prisoners these three thinkers do offer principles for a constructive argument. In the book, I claim that although the historical context of how people come to be imprisoned differs greatly, from a psychological and existential viewpoint, prisoners detained in prison, in the Gulag or in concentration camps (whether because of their crimes, political oppression or racism, etc.) show comparable patterns in terms of human suffering, survival instinct and ability to cope. In a sense, what we are seeing in each case is a manifestation of the ‘sin’ in which we human beings, (prisoners, jailors, pastors and justice systems alike) are trapped, a situation where we are all in need of redemption.
3 Building Blocks for an Empowering Theology
I believe today’s linking of theological thought and ministerial practice has relevance yet it needs a clear emphasis, especially when it comes down to academic technicalities and a deep knowledge of the scholars and authors discussed. However, one can only interact profoundly with modern scholarship when boundaries are set from the start. My aim has been to meaningfully structure the book and fill an important gap in scholarship, as no detailed discussion of Rahner’s work on the prison pastorate has been done before. I wanted to draw attention particularly to this neglected small work by summarising Rahner’s anthropology and his thoughts on the prison pastorate in the German setting – since my own experience of prison ministry, theology, and research, like Rahner’s reflections, were done precisely in this context.
There can be no doubt, however, that the theology of prison ministry also in Germany has noticeably shifted in comparison with the earlier deliberations of Rahner on the subject. The study, therefore, develops thoughts on prison ministry from a contemporary theological perspective. My aim in the book focuses on a theological discussion on the prison pastorate with a thoughtful dialogue with recent theological contributions. A number of these accounts relate to prison ministry, particularly from the American context; many have a testimonial character and a different focus altogether (mass incarceration, carceral state etc). The concrete aspect, for instance, of combining a theological concern with concern for ministerial practice, is what makes this book arguably European but also distinct from many other works.
Some professionals in the field have asked me why I haven’t integrated more American prison literature, or why I didn’t address the themes of “mass incarceration,” “restorative justice,” “the sacrament of Reconciliation,” and, not to forget, the “ministry to female prisoners.” Again, all these topics are valid in themselves in terms of a further volume but I had to narrow my focus here, due to ministering to a small crowd of approximately 500 male prisoners in Germany. In this place, my lively prison research on Rahner’s theological anthropology, on his pastoral theology, and specifically on his notion of the prison pastorate, developed. This has given the study not only a clear background location, but also a structure and a solid foundation. With the hope, of course, to make a valuable contribution to Rahner studies, carceral studies, and practical theology.
Finally, parts in the book are more explicitly German focused, while other parts have been smoothed out in order to be more readily accessible to a wider audience throughout the English-speaking world. At this point, I must kindly ask the English-language reader to bear with me for some of the technical Rahnerian terms, and German expressions throughout the book as well as with the amount of reference literature referred to in the footnotes. The German originals are there to help one better understand Rahner’s and other authors’ original intention. All to arrive at the creative result of building blocks for an empowering theology of prison ministry, echoing Article One of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) that says in reverberating, striking, and empowering words:
All human beings [including the incarcerated] are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should [be strengthened and ministered to so that they may] act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.11
The present study gave me the opportunity to connect to the incarcerated with as far as possible a divine-human concern and an empowering “spirit of brotherhood”: to understand what they feel and what gives meaning in their lives. The book offers the reader a creative and hopeful alternative, both theological and spiritual to all those who want to be free one day and escape from the chains of oppression: turning the tragedy of human imprisonment into a faithful, meaningful and soul-searching victory. As we hear resounding the empowering and paradigmatic words of Bonhoeffer’s poem “Who Am I?” (Wer bin ich?), written in Tegel prison:
Meins G.S. Coetsier, “Towards a Theology of Prison Ministry,” Ph.D. Dissertation, Trinity College Dublin, School of Religion, Loyola Institute, 2021; “Towards a Theology of Prison Ministry,” in: The Furrow: A Journal for The Contemporary Church 72, no. 12 (December 2021): 679–685; “Theologie der Stärkung, Zeitgemässe Theologie der Gefängnisseelsorge,” in: Seelsorge & Strafvollzug. Zur Praxis heutiger Gefängnisseelsorge, Heft 8, Verlag für Gefängnisseelsorge: Zürich (2022): 40–54.
Empowerment and strengthening respectful coexistence is what the diaconal music project “Divine Concern” of the prison chaplaincy in the diocese of Fulda stands for. The project, inspired by Johnny Cash, was awarded the “Catholic Prize against Xenophobia and Racism” of the German Bishops’ Conference in 2021. [https://divine-concern.jimdofree.com/].
One afternoon in the prison office, it was the chaplain Dr. Andreas Leipold who inspired me with a healthy dose of humor, by giving me another perspective on the energetic and empowering ministry behind barbed wire. This lively encounter has continued to shape and strengthen my research and our joint artistic projects ever since.
Michael Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of The Prison, tr. Alan Sheridan (London: Penguin Books, 1991 [1975, 1977]); Surveiller et punir: Naissance de la Prison (Paris: Gallimard, 1975); Überwachen und Strafen: Die Geburt des Gefängnisses (Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 2015).
David Skarbek, The Puzzle of Prison Order: Why Life Behind Bars Varies Around the World (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2020).
See Chapters Seven “Dietrich Bonhoeffer,” and Eight “God’s Powerlessness: Bonhoeffer and Hillesum,” in: Meins G.S. Coetsier, The Existential Philosophy of Etty Hillesum: An Analysis of her Diaries and Letters, Supplements to The Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, 22 (Leiden/Boston MA: Brill, 2014), 411–549.
Karl Barth, Den Gefangenen Befreiung: Predigten aus den Jahren 1954–59 (Zollikon: Evangelischer Verlag, 1959); Deliverance to the Captives? (New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1961).
It was Dr. Andrew Pierce, Assistant Professor of the School of Religion at Trinity College Dublin who kindly drew my attention to Karl Barth’s prison sermons and his “unRahnerian” anthropology, as he puts it. I thank Dr. Pierce for his support at the beginning of the research process, and for clarifying some of the questions underlying this study.
Cf. Amy Levad, Redeeming a Prison Society: A Liturgical and Sacramental Response to Mass Incarceration (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2014); Restorative Justice: Theories and Practices of Moral Imagination (El Paso: LFB Scholarly, 2011). Andrew Skotnicki, Injustice and Prophecy in the Age of Mass Incarceration The Politics of Sanity (Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press, 2022); Conversion and the Rehabilitation of the Penal System: A Theological Rereading of Criminal Justice (New York, NY: Oxford, 2019); The Last Judgment: Christian Ethics in a Legal Culture (Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2012); Criminal Justice and the Catholic Church (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2008); Religion and the Development of the American Penal System (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2000). Jason Sexton, “Experiencing Justice from the Inside Out: Theological Considerations about the Church’s Role in Justice, Healing, and Forgiveness,” Religions special issue, “Carceral Intersections: Christianity and the Crisis of Mass Incarceration,” ed. Douglas Campbell 10/2 (2019): 108; “Constructing a Christian theology for the pluralistic world,” Theology (Sage) 122/1 (2019): 43–46; “Redeemed on the Inside: Radical Accounts of Ecclesia Incarcerate,” Ecclesial Practices: Journal of Ecclesiology and Ethnography (Brill) 5/2 (December 2018): 172–90. Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, Prison Religion: Faith-Based Reform and the Constitution (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009); A Ministry of Presence: Chaplaincy, Spiritual Care, and the Law (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2014).
See also the related topic of “Eugenics” (the scientifically erroneous and immoral theory of “racial improvement”) in the works of legal scholars Laura Appleman and Jonathan Simon. Cf. Laura I. Appleman, “Deviancy, Dependency, & Disability: The Forgotten History of Eugenics and Mass Incarceration,” in: Duke Law Journal 68, Nr. 3 (2018): 417–478. Jonathan Simon, “‘The Criminal Is to Go Free’: The Legacy of Eugenic Thought in Contemporary Judicial Realism about American Criminal Justice,” in: Boston University Law Review 100, Issue 3 (2020): 787–815.
Retrieved from: https://www.un.org/ [my emphasis].
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, DBWE Vol. 8. Letters and Papers from Prison, ed. John W. de Gruchy (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2010):459–460; DBW Vol. 8. Widerstand und Ergebung, eds. Christian Gremmels, Eberhard Bethge, and Renate Bethge with Ilse Tödt (Gütersloh: Chr. Kaiser/Gütersloher Verlagshaus, 1998): 513–514: […] Wer bin ich? Einsames Fragen treibt mit mir Spott. Wer ich auch bin, Du kennst mich, Dein bin ich, o Gott!