Father Greg Boyle: Welcoming the Unwelcome | THE THREAD Documentary Series
In this episode of The Thread, you’ll meet Father Greg Boyle who, inspired by his friend Cesar Chavez’ lifelong commitment to non-violence, has helped hundreds of thousands of young people transform their lives through compassion and unconditional love. In the days of rioting that followed the 1992 acquittal of the Los Angeles police officers who brutally beat Rodney King, Father Boyle founded Homeboy Bakery, a not-for-profit business that gave gang members an opportunity to find employment. More than thirty years later, Homeboy Industries is now the largest gang rehabilitation program in the world, offering an "exit ramp" for more than 10,000 men and women a year.
Father Greg Boyle, a native Angeleno and Jesuit priest, served as pastor of Dolores Mission Church from 1986 to 1992 in Boyle Heights. At the time it was the poorest Catholic parish in Los Angeles with the highest concentration of gang activity in the city. Father Boyle witnessed the devastating impact of gang violence on his community during the so-called “decade of death” that began in the late 1980s and peaked at 1,000 gang-related killings in 1992. In the face of suppression and mass incarceration, his parish and community members adopted what was a radical approach at the time: treat gang members as human beings. In 1988 he started what would eventually become Homeboy Industries, which employs and trains former gang members in a range of social enterprises, as well as provides critical services to thousands of men and women who walk through its doors every year seeking a better life. Father Boyle is the author of the 2010 New York Times bestseller Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion. His new book, Barking to the Choir: The Power of Radical Kinship, was published in 2017. He has received the California Peace Prize and been inducted into the California Hall of Fame. In 2014, President Obama named Father Boyle a Champion of Change. He received the University of Notre Dame’s 2017 Laetare Medal, the oldest honor given to American Catholics.
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Chapter Markers:
00:00 - Opening
00:55 - Childhood
01:31 - Dolores Mission Catholic Church
03:39 - Lives that Count
04:41 - Starting Homeboy Industries
06:38 - Finding Goodness Within
09:56 - Standing With The Marginalized
13:06 - Radical Kinship
15:35 - Measuring Healing
17:32 - Anger and Hate in Faith
19:29 - What It Means to Be Holy
24:13 - Lulu’s Dream Story
27:49 - Homeboy Industries Programs
29:59 - Tattoo Removal Story
31:47 - Favorite Music
Father Greg Boyle, Priest
Interviewed By: David Bender
Interview Date: August 30, 2023
© Kunhardt Film Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
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