Restorative Justice Committee
Restorative Justice gathering, from left, back row:
Sr. Pat Davis, Sr. Esther Heffernan, Delena
Stephens-Bowen, and Sr. Mary Eileen Scully.
Front: Jana Minor and Sr. Liz Sully
When a crime occurs, many are affected. Not only are the victims and their loved ones hurt, but so are the offenders and their loved ones. In reality, the entire community suffers. Restorative justice is a concept created by Mennonite Howard Zehr, who believed that all who are hurt by criminal activity need to be healed and that the entire community needs to be restored as much as possible to pre-crime conditions.
The two components of restorative justice are healing and accountability. Any program or action that brings healing to any of those hurt by crimes is part of restorative justice. Part of the healing process is accountability. When offenders accept responsibility for crimes, they are freed to move past the criminal events and open themselves to new growth and new life. This acceptance of responsibility helps to bring healing to the victims and the entire community. Offender-victim reconciliation programs sometimes offer powerful healing to all involved.
An often forgotten aspect of restorative justice calls the community to accept responsibility for the ways its attitudes, practices, and laws foster violence and empower crime. Calling for reflection on the ways we might contribute to crime in no way takes away the need to hold the offender accountable. Restorative justice calls our society to ask how we can offer every child a quality education and how we can provide better care to those that are ill. It also calls our society to examine what kind of treatment programs are needed for those in domestic violence, child abuse, and addiction situations and to examine all of the underlying causes or encouragements of crime.
The Restorative Justice Committee of the Dominicans of Sinsinawa attempts to call our Congregation and society to reflect on our responses to crime in light of restorative justice and to encourage programs which decrease crime in our country and to heal those damaged by crime and its aftermath.
History
The Restorative Justice Committee was formed in April 1999 by a group of Sisters and Associates who minister to people in prison. They felt that the Sinsinawa Dominican family could minister to the imprisoned and their families if they knew the situation of our prison and justice system. The purpose of this committee is education, advocacy, and for the Sinsinawa Dominican family to support those in prison.
One of the major actions by the committee was to initiate the process for the Sinsinawa Dominicans to support a corporate stance against the death penalty. For more information, please see corporate stances.
Membership
The Restorative Justice Committee meets two times per year. Any Vowed Member, Associate, Dominican Volunteer, or person with whom we share our lives is welcome to join. If you are interested in joining the committee, contact the Peace and Justice Office at opjustice@aol.com.
Members 2008-2009
Trish Connolly
Pat Davis
Esther Heffernan
Mary Howard Johnstone
Jana Minor
Jill Poehlman
Mary Eileen Scully
Delena Stephens-Bowen
Liz Sully