PARAGUAY, ABCcolor •
Father Pedro Kühlcke imparted the Sacrament of Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation to approximately sixty juveniles in the chapel of the Educational Center of Itauguá (detention center for minors). Parents, sponsors, and others close to the young offenders participated in the religious rite, where emotional reactions were prevalent.
Father Pedro and his work team have been working with these inmates for a while, and every Saturday, they teach the Catechism to the them. The courses for First Communion and Confirmation are now concluded. The newly baptized in the Catholic faith were also present during the liturgy, where the sacraments were administered.
All of this is done within the program of re-integration’s framework that has been implemented for some time in several prisons and especially at the Educational Center; it is to help juveniles who have committed an offense to be released, make use of the second chance, and leave the path of delinquency.
The participation of the juveniles’ parents is key, since it demonstrates that the attachment between the inmate and his family is not broken.
