1 CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING ON RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

Thank you for inviting me to address this most important conference on restorative justice. Preparing this presentation has motivated me to learn more about the topic as well as to become knowledgeable of ways the principles of restorative justice are being adapted and implemented throughout the world, and often by Roman Catholics, lay women and men, women and men in religious life and the ordained in the Church, deacons, priests and bishops. Much of the preparation involved e-mailings, telephone interviews and pouring over much literature on the subject. Some of my sources told me outright, “You won’t find much that the Church teaches on this.” While the Church may not explicitly teach much on restorative justice, when it has spoken, it has been clear and forceful, such as the United States Bishops ’ statement, Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration, A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice, approved by the full body of bishops at the Fall Assembly, November, 2000. This document has become a Magna Charta for many involved in the process of bringing about healing to all those touched by crime and its consequences. In this presentation I will share what the Church officially teaches on restorative justice and how she teaches it through action