 For the first time, teenagers detained in Murrieta, Rancho Cucamonga and San Bernardino were able to receive ashes for the start of Lent thanks to the efforts of the Office of Restorative Justice for the San Bernardino Diocese.
Sr. Sue Reif, OSF, founded the office about a year and a half ago. Realizing the youth in these juvenile halls were underserved, weekly faith sharing groups were initiated. Volunteers meet with about 15 teenagers in one unit of a facility. Time is spent sharing and reflecting on the Sunday readings and the dialogue is ecumenical with Catholic and Protestant youth attending. Average time in tine spent in juvenile hall is two to three weeks, so attendees change frequently, as the teenagers move on to jail, a work camp or are released on probation.
Building on the success of these weekly meetings, there was a desire to introduce the significance of Lent to the youth. Two months before Ash Wednesday, juvenile hall administrators were asked for approval. They welcomed the idea, with some conditions, such as the teenagers did not come forward to receive the ashes, but remained seated throughout the service.
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 At a hearing on the revised lethal injection protocols, speakers from around the state largely denounced the new execution procedures and voiced opposition to the death penalty in general. Only a handful of speakers spoke in support.
Fr. George Horan, co-director of the Office of Restorative Justice for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and a chaplain at LA County's Men's Central Jail, questioned the requirement that a chaplain report the details of conversations with the condemned.
"Chaplains are there to be a loving and compassionate presence for those in prison," explained Fr. Horan. "They are not trained physiologists or part of the prison staff able to evaluate how something revealed in a conversation might be pertinent to the execution."
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Commentary by Rev. Michael Carson
 If any California institution was totally ineffective, cost millions of dollars without benefit and had a less expensive alternative, one might think we would at least consider eliminating it.
All these criteria describe the death penalty. So why do we still have the death penalty in California?
I have been doing anti-death penalty work since before ordination. At first, I would come ready to debate with facts, figures, studies, Church documents and moral statements. However, the only question consistently asked is, what would I do if my mother or sister were murdered? Would I not want the death penalty?
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Head Chaplain, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA