Sr. Janet Ryan, OSF, facilitates restorative “justice circle keeper” trainings for staff and incarcerated individuals inside prisons in the US state of Illinois, as part of her ministry with Mobilizing Network.
By Krisanne Vaillancourt Murphy, Catholic Mobilizing Network
UNITED STATES — When thinking of the American penal system, we might recall the harsh conditions depicted in popular movies and television shows. And when one hears about justice being pursued or carried out in these environments, the first words that come to mind might be punishment and retribution.
Of course, our Catholic understanding of justice extends beyond this narrow definition to include concepts and goals like rehabilitation and restoration. True justice—Gospel-inspired justice—is oriented toward genuine peace, flourishing, and even communion. This vision of justice is truly a synodal way of proceeding. It is rooted in the dignity of each person, something that is innate and cannot be forfeited.
But does that vision of justice and the recognition of each person’s dignity, even when they have committed grave crimes, seem like a mere fantasy, given the nature of incarceration and capital punishment in the United States?
Sr. Janet Ryan, OSF, does not think so. That’s why she is leading restorative justice trainings inside prisons throughout Illinois.
Sowing Seeds of Hope in Prison
Sr. Janet is a Fransiscan sister from Clinton, Iowa. For more than a decade, she has served at Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation (PBMR), an organization located in the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago, IL, which exists to restore human dignity through hospitality, hope, and healing.
It feels especially fitting to share the story of her hope-filled work in prison as we continue to celebrate this special Jubilee Year dedicated to hope.
Founded by the Catholic religious order, the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, PBMR serves community members who are impacted by violence and the criminal justice system, including men and women who are currently incarcerated. Sr. Janet’s particular role within PBMR is to lead the peace circle prison ministry.
A peace circle, also known as the restorative practice of circle process, invites participants to sit in a circle and pass a talking piece, which signals the speaking order. Facilitators, like Sr. Janet, guide the dialogue using a series of prompts to which every person has the chance to provide a response.
Recently, Sr. Janet has initiated a new circle process training program inside prisons to equip incarcerated individuals and prison staff to use the restorative practice of circle process themselves. Offering this program not only to those who are incarcerated, but to the correctional staff at these prison facilities as well, Sr. Janet transcends this common divide in a highly uncommon way.
Sr. Janet says each time she gathers in a circle is an opportunity to meet “beautiful, loving, funny, gifted people.” There is a lot of laughter and a lot of tears. Through authentic dialogue, the circle process creates space to recognize the humanity in every person, which Sr. Janet says “has the potential to have long-term impact and bring about real transformation”—even if that takes time.
Each training is conducted over the course of four days and takes roughly 28 hours to complete. In that time, Sr. Janet shares that she hopes to reflect the goodness, beauty, and dignity of those who are incarcerated and those who work in corrections, creating a space where each person feels safe enough to share honestly and vulnerably without judgment.
By the end of this experience, Sr. Janet says the participants—whether incarcerated individuals or prison staff—walk away with the skills and tools needed to facilitate these kinds of authentic dialogues in prison or in their community.
Catholic Mobilizing Network’s facilitator guide, Conversations in Communion: Parish Dialogues for Connection and Understanding, serves as a companion to Sr. Janet’s trainings. She said that one inmate was particularly passionate about the potential impact of this model. He made a striking observation, suggesting that you could change parish to prison, and parishioner to inmate, and distribute copies throughout prisons across the country.
Synodal Encounters Toward Healing and Communion
A testament to the success of this approach is that Sr. Janet’s co-trainer, Eric Anderson, is helping to facilitate circles in the very facility where he was incarcerated about five years ago. His story is a great inspiration to many of the men who know his history and desire a better way forward. The staff, meanwhile, have been polite and professional toward him, even those not yet ready to participate in a circle with him.
Sr. Janet is aware that the circle process is deeply countercultural—particularly in the prison system. But this is why it can be so transformational. She believes we can do better—for the incarcerated individuals and the prison staff—to reduce trauma and stress and to create a more just and effective system. Hosting these trainings is one step in that direction.
Amid fractured relationships and divided communities, we are all in need of dialogue like this that fosters deep listening, authentic encounter, and radical truth-telling that can build a path toward healing and communion.
Whether behind prison bars or in the parish hall, this is the work of synodality that we as a Church are being called to. Both synodality and restorative justice encompass a vision and process for journeying together through woundedness and division, inside prison and here on the outside.
Just how critical this work is can be best summed up here: When some of the incarcerated individuals found out that the Department of Corrections did not provide any funding for their trainings, they pooled their own resources and wrote Sr. Janet a check for more than $1,000.
Sr. Janet’s teaching of circle process—and the transformation made possible through the practices of restorative justice—is truly a tangible sign of hope today.
