Dear Fellow Prisoner of Christ,
May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the name of Jesus Christ. It’s my great pleasure to invite you to join Clergy for Prison Reform (CPR), a new Christian organization made up of servant leaders like you called to address the current state of Mississippi’s corrections system.

CJ Rhodes, MDiv

In Mississippi, we lock up more people per capita than China and Russia combined and have the second highest incarceration rate in the country. There are numerous reasons for this development – harsh sentencing guidelines, lack of rehabilitation, etc. – but one of the most disturbing to me is the corporatization of the prison system and the profit-driven incentive to lock up as many people as possible, keep them there as long as possible, and make sure they return to prison as many times as possible.
Our for-profit prison industry has received recent attention with the indictment of now former Mississippi Department of Corrections Commissioner Chris Epps for his accepting bribes from these same companies.
These for-profit companies in Mississippi also have abysmal records of inhumane conditions, lack of supervision, poor mental health and other healthcare services, prisoner abuse and violence – all while raking in $77 million per year of Mississippi taxpayer funds for their shareholders. Currently, legislators and other leaders are rightly looking into these companies and asking whether Mississippi should be doing business with them at all.
Several weeks ago, I helped organize a breakfast for a diverse and dedicated group of pastors and lay leaders to discuss how we may advocate for a better system. Though several civil and human rights groups are actively engaged in this fight from political and economic vantages, it will be the presence of the church that will change the conscience of Mississippi. This is a debate in which your moral voice matters.
Over the next few months, Clergy for Prison Reform hopes to raise a collective chorus of Mississippi’s faith leaders from across political, racial and denominational backgrounds. I hope you will be in that number.
Prayerfully, Clergy for Prison Reform will advocate in the power of Christ’s Spirit for a more just and righteous and humane criminal justice system. Time is of the essence. We cannot wait. Please join me in this good fight for the least of these.
Please also forward this invitation to all in your network who might be interested in joining our efforts.
In the name of the convicted, crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ,
CJ Rhodes, MDiv
Pastor, Mount Helm Baptist Church
Director of Student Religious Life
Alcorn State University

Father Gerard Cleary, 80, died on Monday, March 9, in Gulfport. His funeral and burial were Friday, March 13, at the Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Biloxi.
Father Cleary was born on July 20, 1934, in Ballygar, County Galway, Ireland. He graduated from St. Patrick College in Carlow and was ordained for the Diocese of Natchez-Jackson on June 10, 1961.

Father Gerald Cleary

His first assignment was as associate pastor of Bay St. Louis Our Lady of the Gulf. In addition to many assignments in what is now the Diocese of Biloxi, Father Cleary also served as associate pastor of Meridian St. Patrick Parish and Natchez St. Mary Parish.
Following Hurricane Katrina, Father Cleary was named senior priest at Gulfport St. John the Evangelist Parish. He retired from active ministry in 2010. At the time of his death, Father Cleary was living at Dunbar Village in Bay St. Louis.
Father Cleary was preceded in death by his parents, Gerard Michael and Rita McLoughlin Cleary and a sister, Eithne Tully. He is survived by a sister, Maureen, and two brothers, Seamus and Sean, all of Ireland.

NATCHEZ – Father David O’Connor, pastor of St. Mary Basilica and Assumption Parish, will lead a 10-day trip to Northern Ireland, Scotland and England in June. He said the group will depart from Jackson
International Airport for Dublin, Ireland, on Monday, June 22, and will return from Manchester, England, Airport on July 1.
The trip includes eight nights, seven of which will be in four-star hotels and one in an Irish castle. The overnight stays will be in Cabra Castle (1), Belfast (2), Glasgow (2), Edinburgh (2) and Manchester (1). The tour will include a full breakfast each day and dinner on six of the evenings. The group will travel in the same luxury motor coach from the time of arrival in Dublin until departure from Manchester with the same professional tour guide.
Father O’Connor said, “I will be with the group throughout the tour of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Manchester. I will introduce the group members to the history, natural beauty and cultures of the areas we visit. I have visited these areas previously but I have not led a group to any of these areas. Our initial plan is for a group of approximately 30 people. About half that number have already indicated an interest. My hope is that those who decide to travel on this trip will return home with life-long memories and countless moments to savor from the trip.”
The sightseeing will include dinner and overnight in an Irish castle, a tour of historic Belfast, the UNESCO World heritage site – Giants Causeway – and the nine glens of Antrim. The group and luxury coach will cross by ferry from Belfast to Scotland and spend two nights in Glasgow where the group will see George Square and the 14th century cathedral. Glasgow is a city with divided loyalties to its two great soccer teams – Rangers and Celtics. From that location the group will cruise in Loch Lomond, sightsee in the Scottish Highlands and visit Stirling Castle.
The group will then travel to one of Europe’s most historic and cultural cities – Edinburgh –  where they will spend two nights. On the way, they will visit Rosslyn Chapel, famed for its carvings and the aura of mystery and magic that surrounds it. This chapel is featured in the “Da Vinci Code” movie and book. Overnight accommodation will be in central Edinburgh. Sightseeing will include a drive along the bustling Prince Street, and the streets of the 200-year-old Georgina New Town. It will also include a visit to Edinburgh Castle, which dominates the city and contains the Scottish Crown Jewels.
After breakfast on the final day, the group will travel southwards across the border into England and travel through what is known as the “Lake District” and the “Yorkshire Dales.” The group will have its final dinner together in Manchester.
Father O’Connor added, “Cara Travel Services is always willing to make special arrangements for individuals who want to travel one or more days before the group departure, or who might want to remain for additional days at the end of the trip.”
The package price, including airfare from Jackson, is $3,399 per person. Further information on the tour is available on the St. Mary website (www.stmarybasilica.org) and at: info@caragrouptravel.com or by calling Sara at Cara Travel Service 617-639-0273.

(Editor’s Note: Earlier this year, Mississippi Catholic requested reflections from the orders of consecrated people serving in the Diocese of Jackson. As those reflections come in, we will share them in the paper as part of the Year of Consecrated Life. Religious wishing to submit a reflection should send it to editor@mississippicatholic.com.)
For six years, in the ‘70’s, I was privileged to teach English literature, writing, and religion in Cathedral High, Natchez. Actually, we Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul go back a lot further: We arrived in that river town in 1847 to care for orphans, teach youth and administer human services to those in special need. It was impossible not to love the

Honora Remes, Daughter of Charity
St. Louis, MO

students, teachers and families that made you feel part of them; the contagious communal pride in southern history, the gentle hospitality, the tasty catfish hangouts, the Pilgrimage elan, the Green Wave spirit and the elegant grace of historic St. Mary’s Basilica, where saints’ statues look down on you with such tenderness you know they are your friends.
Pioneers that we “Daughters” were, we also hung our hats (by this time adapted from the white-winged cornette to a more modest blue veil) in Walls and Charleston for direct service of the most vulnerable. For us in Natchez, visiting our Sisters in Northern Mississippi was a great stop-over on our trips up to the Provincial House in Evansville, Ind.
As you know, our sisters withdrew from Natchez in July 2003; but we have never left behind the loving relationships formed during our 156 years of insertion there. Throughout the years, Natchez families have also nurtured a generous number of religious vocations which we were thankful to welcome into our ranks as Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac!
Your lasting farewell gift is the present flourishing state of Cathedral School. Thanks to the dedication and wisdom of those who have continuously supported the school’s cause to provide for youth a sound Catholic and academic foundation, Cathedral today offers an education that yearly grows in quality. We Daughters of Charity salute the dedication of all who have a part in this growth, and we are thankful to have sowed a tiny “green” seed that just gets better with age!
With grateful love and prayer, Your Sister,
Honora Remes, Daughter of Charity, St. Louis, MO