JAY SORGI

SPECIAL TO THE CATHOLIC HERALD

For years, Pope Francis has made it a point during the key Catholic holidays to celebrate Mass with those whom society often shuns and forgets, people who are imprisoned.

Milwaukee Auxiliary Bishop James T. Schuerman made jail and prison ministry a part of his life for many years of his priestly career, and returned to it over multiple days before and after Christmas by celebrating Mass at different correctional facilities in southeastern Wisconsin.

“You go in because these people are worthy,” Bishop Schuerman said.

“These are sons and daughters of God. These are people who have had different circumstances in their lives that brought them to this, this system. But they are people also who are open to conversion, open to something more, something better.”

His last eight years before becoming an auxiliary bishop in 2017 included many experiences sharing weekly Mass with incarcerated people in Walworth County.

“One thing that the archdiocese has done is really encourage the priests who have their parishes in these areas where prisons or jails are located to get involved with ministry in those places — not only the priests but deacons and lay people as well. I think that’s been fruitful,” said Bishop Schuerman.

“On a weekly basis, we would go to the Walworth County Jail in order to celebrate Mass, hear confession and just kind of speak with the people who were there and who gathered for those sacraments. That was a real learning experience for me, just to be able to communicate with people who are in that situation, not being able to leave freely, but yet having a longing and a desire to grow in their spirituality.”

In a hard, often harsh, place in these incarcerated peoples’ lives, these experiences meant so much more, according to Bishop Schuerman.

“I remember one person coming up to me after we had done the Gospel of the Good Shepherd who goes after the lost sheep,” he said.

“Afterwards, he came up to me and said, ‘You priests are that good shepherd for us. You come and you seek us, and you deliver a message that we need.’ I was very moved by that. I just thought that was an excellent insight that the Church reaches out to those who, in one way or another, (are) a little bit lost and need to be brought back into the fold.”

The presence of Bishop Schuerman comes at a time when jail and prison ministry is making an increased impact, as an incarcerated man recently received the Sacrament of Confirmation — a step that Bishop Schuerman says isn’t a regular occurrence but could happen more often as the archdiocese increases catechesis within the jail and prison systems.

It also comes at a time of year where it matters more for these incarcerated people, at a time when they may be missing family more poignantly.

“We’re celebrating the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, at this time of year, the Nativity of our Lord. It kind of emphasizes, if a bishop goes in, that the Church really does care about them,” said Bishop Schuerman.

“In this season, we’re going to do something special (even as) the priests who are there on a regular basis, they’re the ones who really are doing the work along the way. But to bring in a bishop is a special thing for those who are incarcerated. They don’t often see it. And so, when it happens at Christmas time, it kind of emphasizes, well, yes, this is an extremely important point of the Church year, when we are emphasizing that Christ was born into our human condition.”

Schuerman also dives into how Christ can understand the condition of the incarcerated, as he was imprisoned before his Death on the cross on Good Friday.

“These are people who meditate a lot on the human condition, the fact that they’re there because of things they have done,” he said.

“They are looking for something better. They’re looking for a deeper sense of spirituality, relationship with God. They’re looking to change. These celebrations, like the celebration of Christmas or the celebration of Easter, if you have a bishop coming in, it just kind of emphasizes the Church really wants you to grow in your faith. The Church cares about you, and you know the Lord is at work here.”

Bishop Schuerman asks the community to grow in prayer for incarcerated people, saying how easy it is to forget them when they go behind bars.

“In the system, we send them away, out of sight, out of mind and so forth. But we can never, as a Church, take on that kind of attitude. We’ve got to keep them in prayer daily … assure them of our connection with them as brothers and sisters, assure them of the love of God and be supportive of the ministers who go into the prison system.”

And as Bishop Schuerman added, “We walk in as fellow human beings, but also representatives of Christ, in order to help them open up their minds and hearts to the love that God offers.”

Bishop James T. Schuerman