#1803 - Fr. David Kelly, Chaplain at Cook County Jail

First Friday Club of Chicago podcast

Violence is a Three-Sided Coin

The out-of- control violence that plagues so many pockets of Chicago focuses on two elements: the perpetrators and the victims. Often they are described as opposite sides of the same coin, the 2 sides of a violent action. Yet there is another element that very often encircles those two sides. Violence between perpetrator and victim often occurs in the same territory, neighborhood, or community: the third side of the coin. Fr. Dave Kelly and other members of his religious congregation began the Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation. This Ministry reaches out to those who have been harmed, the one who has done the harm, and the community. Our criminal justice system asks what law was broken and what the punishment is. There is very little energy offered to the victim or to the process of healing. Fr. Kelly's Restorative Justice Program seeks to restore the peace, to fix the harm and pain by working together with the victim, the offender, and the community. In the great Tradition of our Faith rooted in Christ, he sees all life as precious: the offender, the victim, and all in the community. He believes that healing and hope can be restored by all three sides of this coin coming together in Peace and Justice.

Violence among us may be defined as out of control. But Fr. Dave Kelly's ministry has proven that can change. Father Dave Kelly has earned his Doctorate of Ministry from the Catholic Theological Union. His thesis is entitled: "Responding to the Violence Among Urban Youth: a Restorative Approach."