Issue 67 - The Pilgrim - December 2017/January 2018 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

The Pilgrim December 2017/January 2018
Focus on faith
Those who choose to go to prison
Andy Keen Downs, chief executive of PACT (the Prison Advice and Care Trust),
speaks up for those who have the challenging job of working in prisons.
In the movies, and on TV, people who
work in prisons are generally one of
three types. There’s the Tyrant, the
unfeeling authoritarian. There’s the
Sadist, the corrupt, power-crazy
villain who is worse than any of the
prisoners.
And there’s the dim-witted galore,
not fit for anything else. One way or
another, prison officers are typically
portrayed as the bad guys. Can you
imagine us treating firefighters,
nurses, or the police, in the same
way?
I have to admit, in spite of years of
experience of the tough realities of
prison life, there is ample material
for comedy. Those of you who are old
enough, like me, to have enjoyed the
laugh out loud BBC TV Series
Porridge, or who have caught up with
it on the Dave channel, fondly
remember Ronnie Barker as Fletch,
the canny old con, who knows his
way around.
His arch enemy, Mr McKaye, the
peak-capped humourless
authoritarian. Here’s Fletch getting
one over on McKaye:
FLETCHER: I had a friend once –
haven’t told you this before, have I?
He was a light-heavy. Good strong
boy. Won a few fights. Suddenly
thought he was the bee’s knees. Fast
cars, easy women. Classic story of
too much, too soon. He just blew up.
He got into debt and ended up in one
of those travelling booths. Four
fights a night, seven nights a week.
Well the body can’t take that
punishment. His brain went soft, his
reflexes went. You know – punchy.
Just became like a vegetable – an
incoherent non-thinking zombie.
MACKAY: What became of him?
FLETCHER: He joined the prison
service as a Warder. Doing very well.
Occasionally, one also comes across
‘The Christian’. The soft-headed
Fletcher and MacKay from the hit TV series, ‘Porridge’.
officer who believes in silly notions
like rehabilitation and reform. The
comedy favourite is of course also
found in Porridge. Mr Henry
Barrowclough, a gentle soul entirely
out of place in a prison.
Henry’s a Christian, of course, and
therefore naive, overly-lenient, and
constantly being tricked by the
clever prisoners. Because that’s what
we’re like. Us Christians, in the
prisons.
Just for once, may I offer an
alternative view? A view based on
hundreds of officers, governors,
charity workers, chaplains and
others, whose faith has put them in
prison, and kept them there, working
for God’s Kingdom, on the front line.
What I have seen, time and time
again, are people who are smart,
savvy, wise and tough-minded. Whose
skills and expertise are matched with
a resilience to keep pressing on,
which has its foundations in faith.
I meet Christians, of all
denominations, and saintly people of
other great faiths, all working for our
Common Good, believing in the
innate dignity of every person, and in
their potential to change.
I also meet wonderful people of no
faith, working in the prisons, day
after day, for little financial reward
and with little thanks from society,
who are doing God’s work. Porridge
was hilarious, but it wasn’t a
documentary.
So this Christmas, to all the prison
officers, governors, chaplains and
others, I want to say thank you for
what you do, for prisoners, their
families, and for all of us. We press
on – together, in Hope.
The work of
Catholic
chaplaincy
teams in prisons
is a vital one.
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