Penitentiary Pastoral in Spain, concerned with the increase of mentally ill

Those responsible for the penitentiary pastoral in Spain are concerned about the increase in mental illnesses among the inmate population, as well as the situation of foreign convicts and women prey with family charges.

Fr. José Antonio García Quintana, SJ, director of the Department of Penitentiary Pastoral of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), denounces “the lack in medical, psychological and psychiatric care of the prison population” in the annual report released this Wednesday, September 24, 2025, on the occasion of the feast of Our Lady of Mercy.

The Jesuit priest explains that “there is an increase in diagnosed cases and a deficit of attention of these problems, which causes situations of stress and a lot of work among professionals who work in penitentiary enclosures.”

“It is a situation that overflows us all and that surpasses us. We believe that an adequate institutional response for those people with serious mental health pathologies is missing, where they can be treated in the best possible way and not criminalize their illness. We believe that community resources, with due adaptation to the criminal situation, could be a solution,” he adds.

From the CEE, “a lack of institutional response to the growing population that comes from other countries and that are committed to committing and fulfilling their penalty in penitentiary enclosures is also denounced.”

In this area, it highlights “the lack of family support, roots, social ties” suffered by foreigners prisoners, often at very early ages, which “offers a dark panorama about what response to give from social and community institutions.”

In his opinion, this situation is aggravated “with the growing political polarization and unscrupulous use for electoral purposes of the migratory problem, especially Maghreb.”

Along with all this, there is the eternal issue of how to make a more human approach and the treatment of women deprived of liberty, with a very specific problem, many of them victims of the family and social situation of their countries of origin and with many charges and family responsibilities.

The penitentiary pastoral in Spain has more than a thousand programs within the prison walls, most of them of a religious type (612), but also of a social nature (398) or legal (41).

Within the religious area, more than 2,500 people have participated in general catechesis courses, as well as to receive the sacraments of Christian initiation.

Outside the prison, the Catholic Church in Spain develops about 200 legal or healthcare programs. Among them, the Catholic Church holds 87 reception houses that benefit more than 4,000 people.

To carry out this pastoral work there are more than 2,000 volunteers, 159 chaplains: 47 full -time, 84 in the middle of the time and 28 volunteers. In addition, agreements have been established with more than 700 collaborating entities such as parishes, congregations and non -governmental organizations.

Among the activities carried out in 2024, the celebration for the third consecutive year of the Camino de Santiago stands out in which 140 people condemned to private liberties in 10 prisons participated, with the support of another 60 between chaplains and volunteers and 40 professionals belonging to the body of officials of penitentiary institutions.

For the development of pastoral activity, almost three million euros have been invested.

According to Data from the Interior Ministrythe inmate population in Spain is composed of more than 45,000 people, most men (93.8%). Of the total, about a third are foreigners.

The most numerous group of convictions is related to crimes against heritage (about 16,000), followed by crimes against public health (drug trafficking) and those referring to the violence of men against women.