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Inmates, Education, and the Public Good: Deploying Catholic Social Thought to Deconstruct the Us‐Versus‐Them Dichotomy

Inmates, Education, and the Public Good: Deploying Catholic Social Thought to Deconstruct the... Introduction The practice of mass incarceration has become a flashpoint in a number of recent political and public policy debates. There remains no widespread consensus about how to balance the just punishment of criminal offenders with the humanitarian goal of providing inmates with genuine opportunities for reconciliation, rehabilitation, and reintegration into society. Attention has also expanded to consider the broader impact of mass incarceration beyond prison walls. Some commentators urge that many current penal policies have a disproportionate and extremely detrimental effect on poor and minority communities with high rates of incarceration. Their opponents counter that reversing these same policies would have the intolerable consequence of taking educational and other opportunities away from hard‐working, law‐abiding citizens and giving them instead to undeserving criminals. As we shall see, the latter objection assumes a dualistic ‘us‐versus‐them’ mentality that is seriously problematic from the perspective of Catholic social thought and tradition (broadly speaking; hereafter CSTT) and conflicts with the key principles of Catholic Social Teaching as expressed in papal encyclicals and the teachings of bishops' conferences. Emphasizing the importance of solidarity and participation in the common good, the dignity of all persons and their labor, a special sensitivity to the needs http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Heythrop Journal Wiley

Inmates, Education, and the Public Good: Deploying Catholic Social Thought to Deconstruct the Us‐Versus‐Them Dichotomy

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References (6)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2015 Trustees for Roman Catholic Purposes Registered
ISSN
0018-1196
eISSN
1468-2265
DOI
10.1111/heyj.12167
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Introduction The practice of mass incarceration has become a flashpoint in a number of recent political and public policy debates. There remains no widespread consensus about how to balance the just punishment of criminal offenders with the humanitarian goal of providing inmates with genuine opportunities for reconciliation, rehabilitation, and reintegration into society. Attention has also expanded to consider the broader impact of mass incarceration beyond prison walls. Some commentators urge that many current penal policies have a disproportionate and extremely detrimental effect on poor and minority communities with high rates of incarceration. Their opponents counter that reversing these same policies would have the intolerable consequence of taking educational and other opportunities away from hard‐working, law‐abiding citizens and giving them instead to undeserving criminals. As we shall see, the latter objection assumes a dualistic ‘us‐versus‐them’ mentality that is seriously problematic from the perspective of Catholic social thought and tradition (broadly speaking; hereafter CSTT) and conflicts with the key principles of Catholic Social Teaching as expressed in papal encyclicals and the teachings of bishops' conferences. Emphasizing the importance of solidarity and participation in the common good, the dignity of all persons and their labor, a special sensitivity to the needs

Journal

The Heythrop JournalWiley

Published: Sep 1, 2015

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