Prison

Nigerian prison conditions have been described as deplorable, and the number of inmates awaiting trial is high. The Catholic Institute for Development, Justice and Peace regularly visits the four prisons in Enugu to provide legal services so people's cases can move forward.

Linda Polk, a retired teacher, social worker and longtime advocate of prison reform, calls felonism any "prejudice, discrimination or antagonism directed against someone who has been suspected or convicted of a felony in the belief that they are inferior."

The nation's criminal justice system "is in need of reform" and the First Step Act "is a worthy 'first step' in the right direction," said Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Florida.

NCR Today: Prisoners across the U.S. are striking in an ongoing, national call for reform of the conditions that they endure during incarceration.

Before washing the feet of 12 prisoners, Pope Francis told them and hundreds of inmates to remember that Jesus constantly stands before them with love, ready to cleanse their sins and forgive them.

NCR Today: I heard from a man in a maximum security prison in Missouri who is trying to help his cellmate's case for clemency.

Listening, playing and having an afternoon snack, Pope Francis spent time March 2 at a group home for women prisoners with small children.

The 1960s and Vatican II compelled Charlie Sullivan to leave the priesthood and pursue social justice; he soon met Pauline Fox, and together as husband and wife they have been lobbying successfully for prison reforms rooted in Matthew 25 for decades.