MEETING NOTES

John Pinter introduced the Reverend “Doc” Dave Link as our program speaker.  Father Link is a Roman Catholic priest with a remarkable past.  He is one of the co-founders of Dismas House, Center for the Homeless, past president of Notre Dame in Australia, and also an attorney.  At the behest of his wife Barbara, he became involved in prison ministry and after she passed away, was ordained into the priesthood.  He told the inspirational story of “Clarence”, a prisoner who was left to his own devices at the age of 2 and became a very bitter and dangerous tough guy.  In prison, Clarence was introduced to “this Jesus dude” and eventually turned his heart and spirit around and spread the Good News to other inmates.  Father Link characterized the prison population as good people that have done stupid things, usually on drugs or alcohol.  He said that Indiana needs to begin to treat them as human beings, give ex-prisoners a chance to turn their lives around and to encourage employers to mentor and hire them so that they can live fulfilling and productive lives.