Public Employee Press

God’s love behind bars

By JANE LaTOUR

Something powerful has kept Sister Mary O’Connor behind bars for the last 20 years — she’s on a mission to serve her flock on Rikers Island.

The jail complex has been called “the largest penal colony in the world.” More than 15,000 inmates are confined within its 11 jails. While 80 percent of them are there because they cannot make their bail, the prisoners in the Eric M. Taylor facility where Sister Mary serves as the Catholic Chaplain have been convicted and are serving sentences of one year or less.

Thick black bars slide shut at frequent checkpoints. “Stop here for pat and frisk” messages are stenciled in red along the corridor walls outside the chapel shared by all the denominations — Jewish, Protestant, Muslim, and Catholic. Visitors from the harsh environment outside its doors enter an oasis of calm. Floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows in pastel colors and rows of wooden pews lead up to the altar where the short, sturdy nun offers her sermons and instruction.

Two of Sister Mary’s characteristics are vital on the job: her compassion and her common sense. She has earned the respect of those she encounters throughout her workplace. But it is the trust of the inmates that she cherishes above all, because their need is so great. Years spent counseling them have given her a depth ofunderstanding and insight into their lives and the hardships they face.

“People here are so poor,” she said. “There are problems of addiction. There is so much anger. This is a tragedy, because unless they can get rid of it, it affects them in so many ways.”

She finds many ways to meet their needs. She distributes socks, magazines, envelopes, and stamps, Christmas cards, and prayer cards. She helps inmates write letters to their families. Connection and a supportive community are two important foundations that many prisoners struggle without. “I do a lot of advocacy for them,” she said.

Her mission also includes preliminary grief counseling when there is a death in an inmate’s family as well as teaching about the faith and providing religious sustenance. On Jan. 15, she showed a video about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and talked about the lessons his life offers. “He taught us that we are all important and that we all have something to contribute. He put his beliefs on the line for others.”

Looking beyond Rikers Island, she sees many problems that impact everybody: “There is so much materialism today, and such a big gap between the poor and the rich. So many people are struggling. And there’s so much violence.”

Two days after graduating from high school, she entered the novitiate of the Sisters of Mercy in Syosset, Long Island. To this day, their mission remains the same: to serve the poor, the sick, and the uneducated. “I knew this was the life for me,” she said.

Strong opponent of death penalty
Sister Mary, now in her 70s, has been working for 53 years. She taught elementary school and worked as a parish assistant before she learned about the chaplaincy opening in the Corrections Dept., where she started in 1987. The thought of retirement makes her uneasy. She is hesitant to leave the island and those in her care.

Chaplains in city agencies are members of DC 37’s Local 299, and Sister Mary makes a point of attending the local’s membershipmeetings.

Another cause adds meaning to her mission of service: She contributes her energies to the work of The Cherished Life Community. “Once a year, we run a prayer service for families of those who have lost loved ones to violence. And we work very hard against the death penalty.”

Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker movement, is a source of inspiration for Sister Mary: “She faced such opposition, but she didn’t let it interfere with what she thought had to be done for the poor.” The model is apt. Sister Mary is a warm, welcome and very determined presence in the lives of many who need her.