Issue 10 - The Pilgrim - October 2012 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

Behind the scenes The Pilgrim October 2012
Giving hope to prisoners
Permanent deacon
John Letley is the
Catholic chaplain
to HMP Swaleside
on the Isle of
Sheppey, He tells
Greg Watts what
it’s like ministering
behind bars.
“I like to feel that I, along
with chaplains of other religions,
make HMP Swaleside
place of healing and hope. I
say healing because we are receiving
prisoners from such
broken and damaged histories.
“And the hope I’m talking
about is not just for release
but a real hope that life can
change and have meaning and
purpose away from the negativity
of indecency, violence
and crime,” says John.
Swaleside, one of three prisons
on the Isle of Sheppey, is a
category B prison with a capacity
for around 1100 inmates.
John sees his role as making
the Church present for the
men, in the same way that it
would be if they were not
in prison.
He admits that before becoming
a chaplain he had seen prison
simply as a place of punishment.
Now he believes that it can be a
place where some people grow
and turn away from crime.
“Although I am a permanent deacon,
and I spend a lot of time explaining
the differences between a
priest and what I can do, I think
the men do see me as their priest.
“However they do understand
what I am able to do sacramentally
and what they have to wait
for a priest to confer.
One of his main tasks is to provide
Mass on Sundays and holy
days of obligation, usually celebrated
by Fr Richard Hearn, the
Catholic chaplain at neighbouring
HMP Elmley. If he is unavailable,
then John holds a service of Word
and Communion.
Two evenings a week are set
aside for Catholic activities,
which include Rosary and Benediction,
or Lectio Divina and,
during Lent, Station of the Cross.
“The rest of my time is spent
working pastorally with prisoners
and staff. I am involved in a number
of prisoner facing committees,
including those covering diversity
and safer custody.
“We are charged with the care
of prisoners who at risk of suicide
or self-harm, and we perform this
role in a multi-disciplinary way.
“We help prisoners maintain
ties with their family and friends
and for those close to release
with their home parish. Families
are normally directed first to a
chaplain when there is some
news good or bad to be passed
on,” he says.
His statutory duties include
meeting all new prisoners within
24 hours of arrival, visiting those
in the healthcare centre and segregation
unit and those prisoners
who have specifically asked to
see him.
The hardest part of the job, he
says, is passing to an inmate the
news of the death or serious illness
of a relative.
“Even after performing this
role for six years you never know
what kind of reaction you are going
to get from the prisoner.
“It is at these times you really
get to see what kind family
man the prisoner is. I suppose
in most cases there is a kind
of helplessness.
“They need to be able to support
their family but they just
cannot because of the restriction
placed upon them by their
custodial sentence. It is
my job to help them get
through that feeling.”
He says his greatest
satisfaction is bringing to
or bringing men back to
the Church. “I am not
permitted to proselytise,
so it has to start
from the inmate. I use
a version of the RCIA
programme adapted to
suit the individual prisoner.
“I am lucky because most men
spend around three years at
Swaleside so we can explore what
it is they are searching for rather
than just bring them straight into
communion.”
Nowadays prison chaplaincies
are multi-faith. At Swaleside
Muslims make up the largest religious
group.
“I work alongside chaplains
from many different faiths. We
share lunch, good works and
problems. Christian chaplains at
Swaleside pray together whenever
the opportunity arises.
“The chaplaincy is much more
effective when we are able to
work closely together as a team.
Even as a Catholic chaplain I find
myself having to facilitate the
practice of non-Christian religions
such as Judaism, Hinduism,
Buddhism and Paganism, just to
mention a few.”
Before becoming a prison chaplain,
John worked for the Prison
Service as a human resources
manager. After he was ordained
to the permanent diaconate in
June 2004 it was suggested that
he get some experience of
chaplaincy work and
the only place that offered him
an opportunity was at Swaleside
He spent two days a week
working with Fr Malcolm Smeaton
and began to feel that God might
be calling him to prison ministry.
He was appointed chaplain at
Swaleside in 2006.
John is disappointed that while
other Churches attract volunteer
prison visitors, so far no Catholics
have come forward. He is currently
working with the Prison
Fellowship to encourage lay people
from the local Chatham deanery
to give a few hours a month.
“I have found it very humbling
and rewarding to work with men
who often can't even look themselves
in the eye because of what
they’ve done and where they
find themselves.
“There is now – and in my opinion
more than ever before – a
need for faith in our prisons. The
men and women who are held in
custody have the same physical,
emotional and spiritual needs as
everyone else, as well as a legal
right to practise their faith whilst
in prison.”
Page 6