The Justice & Reconciliation Project (JRP) is currently working to develop, establish, and test intensive in-prison projects that promote reconciliation and healing between crime victims and offenders. The design of these projects will be based on the Sycamore Tree Project model, an innovative in-prison victim-offender program directed by JRP president Lisa Rea in an adult medium security prison near Houston, Texas, in 1998. With the support of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Ms. Rea worked under contract to Prison Fellowship International, a faith-based nonprofit organization located in Reston, Virginia, to test a 12-week pilot program with small groups of crime victims and offenders. The project's purpose was to expose inmates to the effects of crime on victims. The results for both victims and offenders were remarkable. Many of the victim participants reported that the project had a positive healing effect on their lives, and most inmate participants gained a new perspective on their own crimes and their responsibilities toward their victims. Demonstrating the success of such in-prison programs in California and elsewhere will increase the acceptability of these programs and, more importantly, lead to the positive transformation of lives, including those of both victims and offenders.

New research on restorative justice shows the paradigm could address sexual scandals in the Catholic Church and provide a way to restore a sense of justice, the faith of victims, the Catholic Church and the community.
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An article in The Union, March 5, 2003.

In December 2004, JRP President Lisa Rea served as a presenter and facilitator at an international restorative justice conference organized by Massey University’s Centre for Justice and Peace Development in Albany, New Zealand.? The conference, held at the university’s campus near Auckland, was entitled “New Frontiers in Restorative Justice: Advancing Theory and Practice.” ?The conference was attended by more than 200 restorative justice practitioners, researchers, advocates, and academics from around the world.? Lisa’s conference presentation focused on applying restorative justice to cases of sexual abuse by clergy.? As part of her presentation, she addressed the challenge of opening doors for healing and reconciliation as well as the difficulty in applying restorative justice principles to cases of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in the United States.

Lisa’s thoughts and observations about the conference, its speakers, and some of the topics discussed at the conference can be found at NZ Conference.? These comments were originally included in an e-mail message sent to JRP supporters following Lisa’s return from the conference.