On 03 May 2024, while giving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the U.S., to Fr Greg Boyle, SJ, President Joe Biden said, “Your service as a Jesuit priest over four decades reminds us of the power of redemption, rehabilitation and our obligation to those who have been condemned or counted out. Thank you, Fr. Greg, for your amazing grace.”
Fr Gregory Joseph Boyle, SJ was born on 19 May 1954 in Los Angeles, U.S. After he finished his studies, he became a Jesuits and was ordained a priest in 1984. He holds Master’s degrees in English, Divinity and Sacred Theology.
At the conclusion of his theology studies, Boyle spent a year working in Bolivia. Upon his return in 1986, he was appointed pastor of Dolores Mission Church, a Jesuit parish which happened to be the poorest Catholic parish in the city of Los Angeles. The area where the parish church was located happened to be the territory of eight gangs.
You must have heard of gangs active in many cities in the U.S. The youth who join these gangs engage in selling drugs and often resort to extreme violence. Why would youth join violent gangs, instead of studying and finding a job? Fr. Greg soon found the answer to that question. Some individuals become gang members to fulfill basic needs like food and clothing, as they come from extremely poor families. Some may join a gang for protection from rival gangs or the police. Coming from broken, abusive families many simply seek a sense of family, identity, or belonging.
The time when Fr Greg was the pastor was referred to as the “decade of death” (1988 – 1998) in Los Angeles, since nearly a thousand people were killed every year from gang- related crime.
Fr M.A. Joe Antony, SJ
To read the entire article, click Subscribe
