May-June 2023

Locked up

Yet inner freedom blossoms behind bars

Where is God when someone suddenly finds themselves behind bars, deprived of the freedom to move, to be with family and friends, and the enjoyment of the small pleasures of daily life? In this issue, we feature how some inmates in Texas rediscovered their faith, and their personal story of redemption in federal detainment. And while every society needs to find ways to punish those who disregard the law, as believers we also have a call: to show mercy, to help those who failed to do better and to give them a chance to reintegrate after their punishment, because God—as Pope Francis stated in a prison in Mexico in 2016—always gives us the possibility of writing a new story, he makes “everything new.”