Seelsorge im Strafvollzug

This paper provides perspectives on issues of pastoral care in the penal system, a so far neglected field in the scientific research into the penal system. The author describes the development of prison ministry up until the legal situation to date in the context of the penal system. Furthermore, he analyses the purpose of punishment from the viewpoint of the Catholic Church and Protestant Churches, and prison chaplains and their views on the aims of the penal system. Substantiated by a nationwide empirical study among prison chaplains, he brings to light their practical work and the work field of pastoral care in the penal system. To this end, he describes a prison chaplain’s aims and everyday tasks for instance, as well as the relationship between prison chaplains and the prison inmates and the prison officers respectively.