Brazil's women prisoners feel abandoned, says U.S. missionary

Published: 2007-03-01

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Ministering to women in Brazilian jails often involves just being there for the prisoners, said a U.S. missionary working with the Brazilian bishops' Prison Pastoral Office. Women prisoners feel abandoned and forgotten by society, said Heidi Cerneka, national women's coordinator of the bishops' office and a member of the Maryknoll Lay Missioners. Women prisoners "often feel invisible. They feel they have no voice," she said. Being there and talking to the women makes them feel important because "somebody cares enough to show up," she said. "It helps them feel that they are not invisible." Usually, the only people visiting women prisoners are their mothers, who in many cases are also caring for their daughter's children, she said. Cerneka spoke with Catholic News Service Feb. 28. On March 1 she gave testimony about conditions for women in Brazilian prisons to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. The commission is a branch of the Organization of American States and has its headquarters in Washington. Cerneka, whose family is from St. Louis, has been working as a missionary in Brazil for 10 years.

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