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The provision of Catholic spiritual service and its contribution to the resocialization of incarcerated persons has a long-standing history. On the territory of present-day Slovakia, Catholic priests began to systematically operate in regional court prisons after 1857. They came to prisons to hear confessions and to celebrate holy masses, which were mandatory to attend during this period. A sentenced prisoner could be exempted from participation at their own request. Mons. ThDr. Rudolf Bošňák, who performed spiritual service in prisons, described the situation in 1947 as follows: “I lived in the prison in a private room. I was assigned an office for my work. During my tenure, the doctor, priest, and teacher were employees of the prison. During this period, the priest had free movement throughout the entire prison, sat as a member of the admission committee, participated in decisions regarding the conditional release of prisoners, conducted entrance interviews with new sentenced prisoners (if a prisoner refused the interview, the priest accepted it as an expression of their free decision), held lectures for prisoners with mandatory attendance, walked through the entire prison daily, and the sentenced prisoner could speak with the priest at any time.” This activity continued until 1950.
The restoration of Catholic spiritual service began in 1990. At that time, the first volunteers from among priests and laypeople began to arrive and perform spiritual service in prisons. The right to perform religious activities and its provision, where remand detention and prison sentence execution are carried out, is regulated by Act No. 308/1991 Coll. on Freedom of Religious Faith and the Status of Churches and Religious Societies.
With the establishment of the Ordinariate of the Armed Forces and Armed Corps of the Slovak Republic in 2003 and in accordance with the Treaty between the Slovak Republic and the Holy See on Spiritual Service to Catholic Believers in the Armed Forces and Armed Corps of the Slovak Republic, the provision of spiritual service for incarcerated persons, officers, employees, and their family members is systematic. Every prison has an established position for a prison chaplain or prison deacon. Spiritual service is provided on a voluntary basis in individual or group forms. Regular activities include celebrating holy mass, catechesis, conversation, and devotions. There is also an opportunity to actively and creatively participate in practicing liturgical singing, studying biblical texts, religious education, and preparing musical and spoken performances. Liturgical celebrations are accompanied by singing and music.
Currently, Catholic spiritual service in Slovak prisons holds an irreplaceable position.
Pastoral service in prison facilities in Slovakia has its own genesis. After the major social changes in 1989, individual Christian churches began to perform spiritual service in prisons. In 1990, the Apostolic Church in Slovakia (ACS) became involved through the international prison fellowship Prison Fellowship International (PFI) and an invitation to a conference in La Valetta, Malta, from March 13 – 17, 1991. Subsequently, from March 20 – 27, 1991, training for church volunteers and pastors was held in Prague, organized by the Police Academy for work in prisons. Twenty-five associates visited the Pankrác and Valdice prisons. Based on the need to coordinate prison service by providers of registered churches, the Slovak Prison Fellowship (SVS) was established in 1994. Its goal was to bring a change in life values to incarcerated persons through the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. SVS became a member of PFI, whose founder was the lawyer Charles W. Colson (1931 – 2012), a former advisor to the US President. In the Watergate scandal in 1974, he was sentenced to an unconditional prison sentence. He became a Christian, and his subsequent life confirmed this change even in prison. It was there that he realized the crisis of American criminal law with rising crime and overcrowded prisons. He also saw the necessity to ensure pastoral service for incarcerated persons. For the implementation of Christian service in the prison system, he received the Templeton Prize in 1993 for significant international work (PFI is in 130 countries). In 1994, he visited Slovakia, where he was welcomed in Bratislava together with the Chairman of SVS, Mgr. Jozef Brenkus, by the then Director General of the Corps of Prison and Court Guard, Col. JUDr. Anton Fábry, CSc.
The Ecumenical Pastoral Service (EPS) within the Corps of Prison and Court Guard follows the values and goals of SVS. In the corps' institutions, it is performed by a senior chaplain of the EPS Office and four prison pastors assigned to EPS departments. It has been operating alongside Catholic spiritual service since December 1, 2007.
EPS performs its activities based on the Treaty between the Slovak Republic and registered churches and religious societies of April 11, 2002, published in the Collection of Laws of the Slovak Republic under No. 250/2002 Coll. on the performance of pastoral service to their believers in the armed forces and armed corps of the Slovak Republic, and the resulting Agreement of June 24, 2005, under No. 270/2005 Coll. between the Slovak Republic and 11 registered churches and religious societies. It is governed by relevant departmental legislative standards, as well as the Statute of the Headquarters of Ecumenical Pastoral Service (EPS Headquarters).
Spiritual service for believers of registered Christian churches and religious societies in the corps' institutions has its own irreplaceable place and justification. In modern history, it has become an everyday part of penitentiary care. It has a pastoral and missionary character. Several registered Christian churches operate within it, which is why it is diverse and ecumenical.
In a pluralistic society, it is possible to freely and voluntarily manifest civil rights and religious freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution (Art. 24) and the laws of the Slovak Republic. Incarcerated persons participate in pastoral activities individually or in groups in the form of church services, pastoral conversations, biblical education, concerts, and the like. It also applies to officers and employees of the corps and their family members.
It helps a person in the process of transforming the human heart—its desires, cravings, and motives. The seeker thus has the opportunity to align their attitudes with the laws of society, but from a spiritual perspective, above all with the Divine norms contained in the Word of God. The Bible calls this sin, sinful nature, the carnal man, unwise conduct, and a wicked way of life.
