Maputo, 16 April, 2020 / 7:29 am (ACI Africa).
In view of ensuring that former inmates are fully reintegrated into the society, the Archdiocese of Maputo in Mozambique is giving a second chance to people who have previously served prison sentences by housing them, giving them an opportunity to start a new life.
Through a project called Casa da Misericórdia (House of Mercy), the Archdiocese has set up a home that seeks to "help those who have made mistakes to move towards goodness and respect for others, encouraging their reintegration into society, without falling back into crime" the director of Casa da Misericórdia, Fr. Antonio Perretta told Vatican News in an interview.
Founded in 2016, the home was established after realizing that “people who had problems with the law who stayed in jail and especially young people who leave jail find it very difficult to reintegrate into society either because their families often reject them. Society is also afraid of them,” Fr. Antonio said.
He continued, “After so many years of working in jails I realized that the Church needed to offer a place even for this category of people. A second chance laboratory in the sense that here the young person has the possibility of a second chance of life after having offended society after having started a not good journey that led to jail.”
“The House provides pathways for spiritual and human growth through multiple activities such as prayer and catechesis, biblical formation, the School of Life, and professional workshops,” the Scottish missionary belonging to the Missionary Community of Villaregia added.
