Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Prisoners taking faith journey

byStaff writers
15 June 2014
Reading Time: 2 mins read
AA

Ministry to prisoners: With fellow chaplains are (sixth from left) Francis Bedford and his wife Gaile (front).

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Ministry to prisoners: With fellow chaplains are (sixth from left) Francis Bedford and his wife Gaile (front).
Ministry to prisoners: With fellow chaplains are (sixth from left) Francis Bedford and his wife Gaile (front).

By Paul Dobbyn

PRISONERS at Cairns Lotus Glen Correctional Centre are able to pray and discuss their faith thanks to visits from fellow Catholics.

Francis Bedford said the pastoral experience he was getting in the prison ministry was enriching in many ways.

Cairns diocese has two pastoral care associates as well as staff of pastoral support services attending to the pastoral needs of the inmates at Lotus Glen Correctional Centre.

Mr Bedford and wife Gaile attend Lotus Glen on the allotted day for Catholics, which is Monday, and then every fourth Sunday to present an ecumenical service.

“When we visit on Mondays we have one-to-one contact with the men in their accommodation blocks,” Mr Bedford said. “Bibles, prayer cards and rosary beads have been well accepted.

“Visiting with the men and listening to their stories without any judgment or condemnation, praying and providing spiritual support for them, helps to sustain these inmates in their Christian faith while they are incarcerated.”

Lotus Glen is on the Atherton Tablelands. There are about 680 male offenders housed at the main centre with another 100 or more at the prison farm.

The population is about 75 per cent Indigenous and Islander men. At the main centre, the men are housed in accommodation blocks holding up to 50 inmates per unit.

The correctional centre has a team of 13 chaplains from various church denominations each attending on allotted days. The centre has a chapel and an education room which chaplains use for Bible studies and religious services.

Related Stories

Ethiopian cardinal brings sense of gratitude to Australia

Blessed Sacrament desecrated in robbery of sacred vessels at Canberra church

Pope Francis – ‘My heart is broken’ over Texas elementary school shooting

Mr Bedford, who is also an aspirant to diaconate, attends on Fridays with chaplains from other churches.

“So this pastoral ministry is also proving to be an enrichment of my knowledge regarding other denominations and faiths,” he said.

ShareTweet
Previous Post

Strengthening marriages

Next Post

The church Eddie built

Staff writers

Related Posts

Ethiopian cardinal brings sense of gratitude to Australia
Australia

Ethiopian cardinal brings sense of gratitude to Australia

26 May 2022
Blessed Sacrament desecrated in robbery of sacred vessels at Canberra church
Australia

Blessed Sacrament desecrated in robbery of sacred vessels at Canberra church

26 May 2022
Pope Francis – ‘My heart is broken’ over Texas elementary school shooting
World

Pope Francis – ‘My heart is broken’ over Texas elementary school shooting

26 May 2022
Next Post

The church Eddie built

Burleigh Heads parish offers a hand to East Timorese people

Pope Francis in crowd

Pope says world economic system inevitably leads to war

Popular News

  • Blessed Sacrament desecrated in robbery of sacred vessels at Canberra church

    Blessed Sacrament desecrated in robbery of sacred vessels at Canberra church

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Archbishop calls for prayers in “troubled times”

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Pope Francis – ‘My heart is broken’ over Texas elementary school shooting

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Nuncio take in the sights of Queensland’s far north

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Ethiopian cardinal brings sense of gratitude to Australia

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Ethiopian cardinal brings sense of gratitude to Australia
Australia

Ethiopian cardinal brings sense of gratitude to Australia

by Staff writers
26 May 2022
0

ETHIOPIAN Cardinal Berhaneyesus Souraphiel says his trip to Australia gives him the chance to thank individuals and...

Blessed Sacrament desecrated in robbery of sacred vessels at Canberra church

Blessed Sacrament desecrated in robbery of sacred vessels at Canberra church

26 May 2022
Pope Francis – ‘My heart is broken’ over Texas elementary school shooting

Pope Francis – ‘My heart is broken’ over Texas elementary school shooting

26 May 2022
Nuncio take in the sights of Queensland’s far north

Nuncio take in the sights of Queensland’s far north

25 May 2022
Hong Kong

Cardinal Joseph Zen appears in court in Hong Kong on day of prayer for China

25 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping