My name is Paul Caruso. I have been a parishioner at St Thomas Aquinas for 17 years. Some of you know me. I am a Eucharistic Minister, a Knight of Columbus. I belong to the Cursillo Movement and made a Life In the Spirit Seminar some years ago. I do prison ministry. Three years ago God called me into this ministry. I gave my business to my partner and founded St Joseph Cafasso Prison ministries. St. Joseph Cafasso Prison Ministries, Inc. is a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) Georgia Corporation dedicated to providing the Sacraments and catechesis to Roman Catholic inmates in maximum and medium-security state prisons and Georgia County Jails.

Funding is needed to expand this ministry to other Georgia state prisons and county jails, starting with Lee Arrendale State Prison at Alto. Other maximum-security prisons I will be establishing this year are, Macon State Prison and Georgia State Prison. We will seek volunteers and financial support from Roman Catholic parishes in those areas to the greatest extent possible.

Since it’s inception, St Joseph Cafasso Prison Ministries has been blessed to be a part of and help bring into the Catholic Church 11 inmates. We have other inmates in RCIA formation for entry into the full body of the Church scheduled for this Easter.

In order to get to these prisons to set up a Catholic presence and to visit the surrounding Catholic churches to recruit a local team, I am required to drive approximately 600-800 miles per week. This gets very expensive. Another expense we incur is supplying each inmate with good Catholic books and literature. Each inmate gets a book bundle consisting of a Catholic Bible, Catholic Catechism, Rosary beads, a Scapular along with a Catholic prayer book, instructions on how to say the rosary and an explanation booklet on the Scapular plus a current Catholic periodical.

Services are held each week that include the Eucharist and instructional meetings. Catechesis, devotions and prayer groups are adapted to the needs of the prisoners, following the liturgical calendar. First Fridays are devoted to Eucharistic Adoration at Hays State Prison. Catholic volunteers from the surrounding areas are serving this ministry with full confidence of the Wardens, the prison Chaplains, and prison officers.

There are over 48,000 people in correctional facilities in the State of Georgia in 40 prisons and 24 DOC county jails. Many are Roman Catholic, members of the Body of Christ. Sentenced by the criminal justice system to pay for their transgressions, these men, these women, and these young people are among the most despised of human beings, living outside the pale of compassion or even acknowledgement from the larger church community. And they are starving for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Sacraments.

You may be surprised to learn, as I was, that the percentage of hardened criminals in jails and prisons is very low. In fact, most inmates are just like everyone else. They have family issues and personal problems and they have made mistakes in their lives. Often they are truly repentant. I believe in my heart that every one of them, whether a hardened criminal or a wounded victim, is created in God’s image and deserving of dignity and love.

Each prisoner represents a family in crisis. We are all connected in some way to the imprisoned and their victims. The Church has much to offer in the healing of society. Prisoners need to know that God loves them. They can only know this when we reach inside the razor wire and Celebrate Christ with the inmates. Prisoners need something to gentle their souls so they can hear the voice of God. They need someone to visit, bring the sacraments and pray with them. This is the mission of St Joseph Cafasso Prison Ministries. I intend to make sure there is a regular Catholic presence in all of the Georgia prisons. This means weekly Holy Communion to all Catholic inmates that can receive and a Priest on a monthly basis to say Mass and hear Confessions. Currently I am working in one Maximum-security prison, one Medium- security prison and three county jails. Sometimes I can get into the Atlanta Federal prison.

At the beginning of this year a young student from the University of Georgia in Athens and a parishioner of All Saints Church in Dunwoody called me. She asked if I would consider starting a Catholic ministry in the Clarke County Jail in Athens since there was not a regular Catholic presence in the jail.

Some of the students from the Catholic Center on campus had been called to do a prison ministry. I said yes and made a trip to Athens to meet the County Sheriff and the Chaplain at the jail. I went through certification training, got fingerprinted, ID’ed, and put into their system. I began making weekly trips to visit one young prisoner who was facing 22 felony counts. After I learned their system, rules and regulations, I got 8 students certified, trained, fingerprinted and ID’ed. I took them in two at a time over the next few weeks to train them in the inside ministry. After I felt they were ready to carry on the ministry without me there, I stepped back and now support them from the outside with literature, Bibles, Rosaries, etc. They have since gotten a priest certified and hold regular services at the jail. They identified 11 Hispanic inmates they visit on a weekly basis. This process took about 6 months to complete.

I have the time and the desire to make this mission happen. Any amount you give out of your love for Jesus Christ will help me expand this ministry. I want to thank all of you for your generosity. God Bless You!!

I will take any questions you may have.