With an average daily population of 1,250 inmates, the Massachusetts Correctional Institution (MCI) in nearby Norfolk is similarly proportioned to Boston College's Upper Campus. The comparisons cease with the maximum-security wall, 5,000 feet long by 19 feet high. While many of those confined at MCI-Norfolk, Mass., are serving life sentences, they are able to interact with the outside world though volunteer programs such as one organized by the Bethany House, a Catholic organization based in Millis, Mass.
John McDargh of BC's theology department and Marina McCoy of the philosophy department have both been volunteering at the facility for several years, meeting with groups of inmates on a monthly basis through the Bethany House. In discussion groups with the inmates, talk ranges from the philosophical to the spiritual, covering authors such as Aristotle and Dorothy Day - always with the central themes of love and reconciliation.
"One of the things that struck me immediately was their authenticity," said McCoy, who has been volunteering at the prison for two years now. "They have a kind of openness very few people on the outside have - an ability to confront themselves."
McCoy first went to visit the prison on the recommendation of a Jesuit student who had sat in on one of her lectures. She said that she expected it to be a one-time experience, but "instantly fell in love with being with the group of guys there."
Today, the percentage of the population currently occupying American penal system is one of the highest in the world. Despite that trend, McCoy said, "It's important that we don't forget about prisoners. There is love and hope and joy as well as the hardship and suffering. But there is a lot of hope and transformation.
"That community within the prison where hope and knowing that they're loved - that's something we all need to keep in mind when we remember the purpose of what the prison system is," she said. "I believe everyone has the potential to be redeemed."
Both McCoy and McDargh visit the prison on a regular basis, along with many other BC professors and Jesuits residing at BC. The inmates in their "study groups" often request certain materials and always come prepared to discuss the subject matter. McCoy discussed how in a series the inmates asked her to do on the topic of reconciliation, but she tries not to lecture. Rather, she said, "We as a group reflect on the passages and what struck us and on our relationship to the reading.
"Programs like this help us see that there can be transformations of people, and every person is worthy of being treated with dignity," McCoy said.
The Bethany House was founded years ago by a group of Dominican sisters who came to Millis to bring their ministries to the prisons. Inspired by their work, several inmates petitioned to be allowed to form a chapter of the Third Order of St. Dominic, a religious order designed for lay people who do not take vows but still wish to live a life of spirituality and prayer.
"A fair amount of these guys have suffered from loneliness," McCoy said. "They've found a lot of love and joy in the Dominican community. It was in this community that some found love and family for the first time. They're very hospitable and welcoming because they've experienced what it feels like to be a stranger to others."
The Dominican chapter at MCI-Norfolk, which refers to itself as the Chapter of Our Lady of Mercy, adopted the line "the glory of God is the human person fully alive" as inspiration to live by, McDargh said.
"It's very important that they chose that statement, and they give themselves that name because it's what they really aspire to, whether they are in prison for a sentence that will be over in 10 or 15 years or [are serving a life sentence]," he said. "The real challenge is how you stay fully alive."
McDargh started going out to the prison to give evening lectures eight years ago, visits that developed into a prayer group formed by a dozen "lifers," or people serving life sentences. Armed with just a Bible and whatever materials they would be discussing, the group would sit in a tiny room and discuss the particular topic of the evening.
"How do you deal with the pressure cooker of detention?" McDargh asked. "The men there really continue to try to grow and educate themselves and create the most humane and best environment."
The PULSE course within BC's philosophy department has a similar program in which students are placed within the Suffolk County House of Correction, located in Boston. The facility provides the opportunity for inmates who have been sentenced for two and a half years or less to pursue a multitude of social service and educational programs "aimed at reducing recidivism by assisting inmates in acquiring the necessary skills and behaviors to lead independent, productive, and law-abiding lives," according to the PULSE Web site.
In accordance with the course requirements, students with this placement work directly with teachers at the correctional facility in providing supplementary education in classes for the inmates. At MCI-Norfolk, where 80 percent of the inmates are serving time for committing violent crimes, the security is understandably much stricter.
McDargh, however, said the prisoners have always been cooperative with the volunteers. Once past the security fence, he said that the facility can be easily mistaken for a college-type environment.
"These men are very aware that, in the public eye, prisoners are bad people, and the public wants to pretend that they're not there," McDargh said. "For the last 15 or 20 years, the ideology of American legal system has been almost entirely punitive. So, when anyone from the outside who doesn't need to be there decides to make a commitment and decides to be there, it helps maintain their sense of dignity and worth and value - to realize that they can give something back. Their greatest desire is to realize they can give something back to society."
McDargh described various service projects undertaken by the prison community, ranging from supporting orphanages and homeless shelters to setting up retreat programs for other inmates. They raise money through their jobs at the prison, donating much of it to charity.
"They did the Walk for Hunger in the prison with their own quarters and dimes and nickels, and they find people to sponsor them, so they feel like they're making a contribution," McDargh said.
"Personally, I am tremendously inspired by the faith and the resilience of these men. Many of them have lost everything - they've lost families that have ceased to communicate with them and fellow prisoners who have died or been transferred who they were close to. All that they own will fit in a tiny cell. Yet what is inspiring is their real love and commitment to one another and their love for the entire community. They really love one another and live with a kind of authenticity that I seldom find anywhere," he said.
Said McDargh, "I hope that, having experienced the value of a deep spiritual community within the prison walls, that they will be inspired to look for it to sustain them in their life outside the walls," McDargh said.
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