[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 113 (Friday, July 24, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1948]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING FATHER GREGORY BOYLE, S.J. ON THE OCCASION OF HIS 25TH 
ANNIVERSARY OF HIS ORDINATION TO THE PRIESTHOOD IN THE SOCIETY OF JESUS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 23, 2009

  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
inspiring spiritual and civic leader not only in the Boyle Heights 
community in the heart of my congressional district, but in Los Angeles 
as a whole.
  This year, Father Gregory Boyle, S.J.--best known as Father Greg by 
all who meet him--is celebrating his 25th anniversary of his ordination 
to the priesthood in the Society of Jesus. He is also celebrating the 
beginning of his third decade leading Homeboy Industries, the gang-
intervention nonprofit organization that he founded to address the 
escalating problems and unmet needs of gang-involved youth. It is my 
pleasure to share with you some highlights from his ongoing work.
  Father Greg was born in Los Angeles, one of eight children. His 
father, a third-generation Irish-American, worked in the family-owned 
dairy in Los Angeles County. Father Greg and his siblings worked side 
by side with their father in the dairy. He graduated from Loyola High 
School in Los Angeles in 1972 and would later return to his alma mater 
to teach and serve as a faculty advisor for the student service program 
called Christian Action Movement (CAM). He also worked with Christian 
Base Communities in Cochabamba, Bolivia, before becoming an ordained 
Jesuit priest in 1984.
  In 1986, his work in the Boyle Heights community that I am proud to 
represent began to unfold when Father Greg was appointed Pastor of 
Dolores Mission where he served for six years.
  Homeboy Industries traces its roots to ``Jobs For A Future'' (JFF), a 
program created in 1988 by Father Greg at Dolores Mission parish. 
Father Greg and the community developed positive alternatives for gang-
involved youth, establishing an elementary school and a day care 
program, while working to find legitimate employment for young people. 
JFF's success confirmed that given an opportunity, many gang members 
are eager to leave the dangerous and destructive life on the 
``streets.''
  In 1992, Father Greg launched Homeboy's first business enterprise 
called the Homeboy Bakery. After 17 years, the bakery continues to 
provide training, work experience, and above all, the opportunity for 
rival gang members to work side by side. The success of the Homeboy 
Bakery created the groundwork for additional businesses, thus prompting 
JFF to become an independent non-profit organization, Homeboy 
Industries, in 2001.
  Today Homeboy Industries' nonprofit economic development enterprises 
include Homeboy Bakery, Homeboy Silkscreen, Homeboy Maintenance, 
Homeboy/Homegirl Merchandise, and HomegirlCafO. Homeboy Industries, now 
located in Downtown Los Angeles in my district, serves thousands of 
young people each year, and has become a model for other organizations 
across the country.
  It is currently enlarging its pilot Solar Panel Installation Training 
Program, where young men and women are trained and certified in this 
rapidly growing field. Father Greg remains a visionary, tapping into 
the green jobs and green economy movement and proving once again that 
we should invest in jobs, not jails.
  As Executive Director of Homeboy Industries, Father Greg has become a 
nationally recognized expert on gangs and intervention approaches. 
Father Greg and several ``homies'' were featured speakers at the White 
House Conference on Youth in 2005, and he was a member of the 
California delegation to President Clinton's 1998 Summit on Children in 
Philadelphia. Father Boyle is a member of the National Youth Gang 
Center Advisory Board and was a member of the State Commission on 
Juvenile Justice, Crime and Delinquency Prevention. Father Greg has 
received the California Peace Prize, the Lifetime Achievement Award 
from MALDEF, the ``Humanitarian of the Year'' Award from Bon AppOtit 
magazine, the Caring Institute's Award, the Civic Medal of Honor from 
the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the James Irvine Leadership 
Award. The Los Angeles Headquarters Association honored Father Greg 
this year as one of the city's leading visionaries responsible for 
changing the face of Los Angeles.
  The reach of Father Greg's work also extends to our nation's capital. 
As recently as March, I had the privilege of meeting with Father Greg 
in my Washington, D.C. office on a trip he made to lobby members of 
Congress about the need to support federal efforts to help at-risk 
youth and former gang members lead crime-free and productive lives.
  Madam Speaker, Pedro Arrupe, S.J., the late Father General of the 
Jesuits, stated that the paramount objective of Jesuit education was to 
create ``men for others.'' To all who know him, Father Greg embodies 
this objective as he truly has conducted his ministry and lived his 
life as a ``man for others.'' I am honored and blessed to be among the 
many in our community who consider him a friend.
  As we celebrate Father Greg Boyle's 25th anniversary of ordination to 
the priesthood in the Society of Jesus and his 21st Anniversary of 
leading Homeboy Industries, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating Father Greg--or G-Dog, as he is affectionately known to 
his homeboys and homegirls--on these milestones. Above all, we thank 
him for continuing to call us all to--as he says--stand with those 
whose dignity has been denied, to embrace the poor and powerless and 
voiceless, to stand with the demonized so that the demonizing will 
stop, and to create a community of kinship.

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