Reflection: Trust in Humaneness

Ministry of Presence in Prison.

My name is Mark Van Beeumen (MSC). Since May 2022, I have been working as a chaplain in the prison in Antwerp (Belgium), which is an ‘arrest house’, where people are kept on remand before their trial.

When I first started working there, I wondered whether people in prison would want to see a pastor, but after just one day it became quite clear: “they are happy to have someone they can talk to in confidence.” The conversations can be about anything. There are no taboos: ‘It can be about life in prison, about the problems they experience, about their case, about family, about faith or other things.’ Some ask for a Bible or a rosary as a good luck charm for their trial or as support in difficult moments.

We also celebrate Mass on a Sunday in the chapel, separately for men and women. I do not use traditional Catholic songs, but songs with deep meaning. “We recently started a sharing group with the men, at their own request, starting from the lyrics of the songs. The songs are applied to their lives, often after there has been some time of letting off steam. But the conversations are always very good.”

I experience a great deal of trust from the people in prison, and that makes me humble. Sometimes a conversation ends in prayer and occasionally in confession; sometimes someone asks for a blessing. Sometimes I explain that a blessing is not a magic formula but rather expresses hope and the desire that things will go well for them. That is also the importance of the wish for peace in Mass. I always wish everyone peace and shake their hand. I do not judge people; I leave that to God.

I start from a position of trust in people, not mistrust. I experience that this is why people also trust me. What you give, you receive. I sometimes tell them something about myself as well, even though a prison officer advised me never to do so. But that is how trust and dialogue are created. A chaplain does not hold a position of power and is not perceived as a threat.

I have done many different things in my life, in other places around the world. I worked with street children and in a hospital in Fiji; with homeless people and refugees in a multicultural neighbourhood in Brussels; I did community work through ‘presence ministry’ in Aston (Birmingham); and I worked in a supermarket there (the best way to get to know people in the neighbourhood). And yet, the most satisfaction I get from my work in prison.’

Someone once asked me why the presence of prison chaplains is important and where ‘hope’ lies. I put that question to the people themselves. “Knowing that there is someone there for them, who listens to them, from person to person, who does not judge and that they can be who they are.” One of the works of mercy is “to set the prisoners free.” We can lighten the load a little or bring some peace to the chaos in their lives. When I hear, “you helped me through this because I can be myself,” that is a wonderful compliment. Hope lies in the space that is created in and through care.

One last important aspect I would like to mention is the fantastic team of chaplains in our prison. I work with some incredible people. It is important that we can “come home” to each other. And then there are the colleagues in the many prisons in Flanders and Brussels. Talk about humanity. Who was it again that said “God loves with a human heart”?!

Mark Van Beeumen, MSC (Belgian Province)