Journey of Hope Through Restorative Justice
Eric Boldiszar, a friend and supporter of the Saint Benedict Institute, recently created this artwork in gratitude to those who contributed West Michigan’s 3rd Annual Restorative Justice Conference. He is also an inmate at Handlon Correctional Facility and Calvin Prison Initiative student who has been a key player in organizing the annual Restorative Justice Conference which began at Hope College in 2017. Eric says about the restorative justice conferences:
“Restorative justice, compared to the current criminal justice system, seeks to preserve the inherent dignity of both the victim and the offender, recognizing that each is made in and bears the image of God, the imago Dei. By giving prisoners a voice, the conferences help preserve our dignity as image bearers of God and gives us dignity through telling our stories and giving back to the community.” - Eric Boldiszar
Each piece of art is unique and portrays some aspect of the healing power of restorative practices. Eric created the etching of St. Benedict (below) as a gift specifically for the Saint Benedict Institute. Click here to see images of all of the artwork.
Eric Boldiszar also wrote an article published earlier this year by the Catholic Mobilizing Network. In the article, Boldiszar shares the story of what pointed him in the direction of "finding hope in restorative justice" and his experience organizing the restorative justice conferences.
"One day, while writing a paper on restorative justice and Christian hospitality, I wrote Jared and asked him if he and SBI would be willing to host a restorative justice conference... he responded that they would love to, and "Most importantly tell me your vision for the conference and we will start organizing along those lines." With the assistance of Jared and SBI, my classmates and I picked out the topics, speakers, and recorded video messages to be played at what became our first annual restorative justice conference in 2017."
Etching of Saint Benedict by Eric Boldiszar, given to the Saint Benedict Institute