He has stood at the margins with the demonized and people deemed disposable, preaching reconciliation and oneness to all on behalf of inner city gang members in Los Angeles who are entering mainstream life.

He has authored books from Tattoos On The Heart: The power of boundless compassion in 2010 to a pair of titles in 2022, Forgive Everyone Everything and The Homeboy Way: A radical approach to business and life. Father Greg Boyle also is a sought after speaker, and Boyle — once the pastor of Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, and the founder of the nonprofit Homeboy Industries in 1988 — will talk about his message of love and compassion June 26 at The Shedd Institute at the invitation of Catholic Community Services of Lane County.

“Include Everyone. Love, God” is a call to forge relationships, to treat gang members as human beings as an answer to law enforcement tactics of suppression and criminal justice policies of mass incarceration.

It hasn’t been an easy road to travel. In a 2020 talk in Redondo Beach, California, Boyle noted that he had just recently buried his 245th gang member. Still, he presses on to create a culture where everyone, be it the former gang members or the people seeking to help them, can work together to promote reconciliation. “If you go to the margin to make a difference, it’s about you,” Boyle noted in that Redondo Beach talk. “If you go to the margins for them to make you different, it’s about us. The word for that is kinship.” 

Father Greg Boyle — “Include Everyone. Love, God” — speaks 5:30 pm Monday, June 26, at The Shedd Institute, 868 High Street. All seats have been filled. 

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