Catholic Mobilizing Network and the Georgetown Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life co-sponsored this panel as part of the 2025 National Catholic Conference on Restorative Justice. Hosted in-person for conference attendees in Atlanta, Georgia, this impressive panel, titled When Justice and Mercy Meet: Restorative Justice, Racial Equity, and the Work of Reconciliation was livestreamed to engage a national audience.

Watch the recording below.

Here in the United States, we are seeing an increase of executions coupled with disproportionate incarceration and detention of people of color that violates human dignity and relationships of all involved, including victims of crime and the community at large. This threatens not only individual lives, but also the social fabric of our country, deepening mistrust and isolation where solidarity and safety are needed most.

Transformation of the U.S. criminal legal system requires us to prioritize safety, responsibility, and healing for all who are impacted by crime and incarceration, including victims and communities. The Catholic Church encourages “models of restorative justice that seek to address crime in terms of the harm done to victims and communities, not simply as a violation of law” (Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice – A Statement of the Catholic Bishops of the United States, 2000).

This dialogue highlighted the life-giving and innovative work of people who are reshaping how justice is understood and practiced as facilitators, journalists, and legal system actors. These leaders arrived from four distinct vantage points: accompanying communities impacted by violence; facilitating restorative justice dialogues; advancing public understanding through journalism; and transforming the criminal legal system from the inside at its highest levels. Together, they discussed how restorative justice—rooted in mercy, truth, and racial equity—can create conditions for solidarity, subsidiarity, and human flourishing in communities and systems.

Panelists

Kimberly Mazyck (Moderator) is the Associate Director for Engagement at the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Georgetown University. She is a graduate of the Walsh School of Foreign Service with a degree in international relations and has a certificate in African Studies.

Elizabeth Bruenig is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a former opinion columnist for the New York Times and the Washington Post. She writes frequently on issues addressing life and human dignity, including a powerful recent 2022 series of articles on the death penalty.

Travis Claybrooks is the founder and CEO of Raphah Institute, which improves community safety by helping marginalized communities access essential resources like housing, healthcare, education, and economic support.

Sr. Donna Liette C.PP.S. is a restorative justice practitioner and the Family Forward Program Coordinator at the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation, founded in 2004 by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood to serve young people and families on the South Side of Chicago.

Hon. Harold Melton is a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. Georgia and resigned as chief justice in 2021 following his appointment in 2018. Prior to leading Georgia’s judicial branch, he served as executive counsel to Governor Sonny Perdue and as an assistant attorney general in the office of the attorney general in the Georgia Department of Law where he also led the Consumer Protection Section for four years. Justice Melton joined law firm Troutman Pepper in July of 2021.