Bishop Mykhailo Koltun visits Lviv Prison No. 48 with European delegation of chaplains

On the third day of the conference of the International Commission of Catholic Prison Pastoral Care (ICCPPC) of Europe, held in Lviv on January 9-13, 2012, prisons chaplains from Europe and Ukraine visited Lviv Prison No. 48 in order to learn about the prison system in Ukraine. The group was led by Bishop Mykhailo Koltun, the head of the Department of Pastoral Care in the Armed Forces and Penitentiary System in Ukraine. Participants of the conference met with fellow citizens, who serve their sentences in the institution, were familiarized with the prison conditions and with the specificity of the work of the staff of the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine. During the meeting, Bishop Koltun drew attention to the “uniqueness every human life and the importance of using every day to come closer to God.” Vice President ICCPPC Monsignor Pawel Wojtas, General Chaplain of Poland, told the staff and inmates about the experience of the annual pilgrimage to the Miraculous Icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa of a group of 50 prisoners, about how they care for disabled persons who being taken for 10 days on invalid carriage. “The prisoners dress in the ordinary clothing and no one knows they are serving out their sentences. Prison chaplains recommend this pilgrimage to prisoners. And on a pilgrimage prisoners, who are finishing up their terms, are provided with a temporary leave. The transfiguration of strength of such faith has a tremendous impact on the prisoners,” said the vice president of ICCPPC. The bishop expressed hope that this practice would spread to Ukraine and he promised to help the development of this ministry. Jean de Kock of Belgium talked about the volunteer service for the display of respect for human dignity of prisoners, despite the circumstances of the crime and sentence. The participants were also addressed by Monsignor Malachy Keegan, principal Roman Catholic chaplain in Great Britain, who spoke about the ministerial conference in Lviv, and gave the director of the institution a catalog of Vienna art competitions for prisoners.  

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