$40,700 awarded to expand prison ministry services in 16 mission dioceses
Partnership with DISMAS Ministry and the American Bible Society creates one-year pilot program to provide greater access to Scripture for Catholic inmates
Catholic Extension announced today it will award $40,700 to expand prison ministry services in 16 mission dioceses in California, Florida, Ohio and Texas. The funds will support a one-year pilot program created through a strategic partnership with DISMAS Ministry, a national Catholic organization that ministers to the imprisoned, and the American Bible Society, dedicated to increasing the accessibility of the Bible. The program is designed to deepen the spiritual life of Catholic prison inmates in impoverished areas of the country.
Launched in July 2010, the program focuses on increasing prisoners’ access to Scripture and maximizing the benefits of that access by implementing accompanying Bible study sessions. The American Bible Society will coordinate in-kind donations of Catholic Bibles for use in the ministry, and Catholic Extension will access a vast diocesan network of 560 prison chaplains and local pastoral ministers to enable DISMAS to distribute materials and implement prison ministry Scripture Study programs in participating prison facilities.
“Catholic Extension is pleased to support ministries that actively help build faith,” said Joseph Boland, Senior Director of Grants Management at Catholic Extension. “By providing additional Bibles and new study tools to prison chaplains in poor and isolated dioceses, we are helping sustain the work they do to deepen the faith of incarcerated Catholics and encourage spiritual transformation in their lives.”
Approximately 3,700 Catholic inmates will participate in the program, which will serve up to 269 prison facilities, from federal prisons to juvenile detention centers.
“The help we get from organizations like Catholic Extension is critically important in continuing the work we do,” said Ron Zeilinger with DISMAS. “The demand for Bibles and the desire to learn from Scripture is high in criminal justice ministry. This partnership will not only help bring the Word to thousands of inmates desperate for a closer relationship with God, but also help them understand it through the Bible study sessions our ministry provides.”
Catholic Extension will award more than 1,000 grant requests this year to poor and isolated communities across the U.S. and its territories. Last year the organization invested $14 million in 84 of America’s “mission dioceses,” geographic regions of the country where the Catholic Church is growing and needs are great. Catholic Extension was able to do so through contributions from 47,000 individual donors who share its commitment to strengthen communities and sustain the Catholic faith throughout the country.
About DISMAS
Named in honor of one of the men executed with Jesus, DISMAS is a national Catholic outreach that ministers to the imprisoned, victims and their loved ones, correctional officers and staff. It serves more than 700 jails and prisons, working with those who want to understand and strengthen their relationship with God in the hope that this will have a positive effect on everyone affected by crime.
About The American Bible Society
The American Bible Society makes the Bible available to everyone so they may experience its life-changing message. It advocates and resources through strong relationships with strategic partners.