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Collaborating in Practice

A Catholic approach to restorative justice enables individuals and groups to stand firm in identity and conviction while listening deeply, honoring the unique perspectives and lived experiences of collaborators, and acknowledging our interconnectedness.

It also recognizes that faith institutions play a unique role in meeting the needs of the community outside of the legal system and other professionalized systems.

In preventing and responding to harm and violence, Catholics learn from and engage directly with: 

  • Victims and survivors and their loved ones.

  • Currently and formerly incarcerated persons and their loved ones.

  • Black and African American, Native American and Indigenous, Latino/a and Hispanic, and all people and communities of color.

  • Christian and other faith-based groups.

  • Groups and community leaders who may not be Catholic or faith-based but share restorative justice values.

  • Government agencies and elected officials.

  • Other institutions and stakeholders with whom their work/service intersects .

When engaging in collaborative and inclusive ways, our ministries can be instrumental in shepherding processes that uphold dignity and transform broken relationships, communities, and systems.

"I believe that churches are essential institutions at the community level that create access to and reinvigorate mutual support that doesn’t depend on professional systems." (Kay Pranis, Author of The Little Book of Circle Processes : A New/Old Approach to Peacemaking)