“Mercy Runs”: National Faith Leaders speak on Forgiveness @ Kean
October 24, 2022
The Kean University community was fortunate to be the location for the NJ ReEntry Corporation’s Interfaith Speaking event, “Faith In Action,” where national faith leaders from around the country gathered to discuss healing, forgiveness, and second chances to court impacted persons.
This event featured many well-known faith speakers representing various religions and churches. Speaking from the Catholic perspective were multiple exciting experts in their fields. Keynote speaker for the event was Fr. Gregory Boyle of Homeboy Industries, the Archdiocese of Newark’s very own Cardinal Joseph Tobin, CSsR, and Sister Simone Campbell from the Sisters of Social Service and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.
Representing other perspectives on the conversation surrounding court-impacted persons, other speakers included Reverend Al Sharpton from the National Action Network, Khalid Latif (Imam), Executive Director and Lead Chapain of the Islamic Center at NYU, Rev. Dr. Gabriele Salguero, President of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, Swami Sarvapriyananda, Hindu Monk for the Ramakrishna Order, and Former Secretary of State of NJ Rev. Dr. Deforest Soaries- to name a few!
Cardinal Tobin spoke on the beauty of forgiveness and how it transforms, giving closure to those who witness it. Being a conference on court involved persons, he also stressed that forgiveness itself does not make heinous crimes okay, but it gives closure- a powerful and transformative thing in itself. Tobin compared refusing to forgive someone is similar to “drinking poison, and hoping the guy next to you is the one that dies.”
Keynote speaker Fr. Gregory Joseph Boyle, S.J. is a Catholic priest of the Jesuit order. He is the founder and director of “Homeboy Industries”, the world's largest gang-intervention and rehabilitation program, and former pastor of Dolores Mission Church in Los Angeles. From 1986 to 1992 Fr. Boyle served as pastor of Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights, then the poorest Catholic parish in Los Angeles that also had the highest concentration of gang activity in the city. The Homeboy Industries site notes that Fr. 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 law enforcement tactics and criminal justice policies of suppression and mass incarceration as the means to end gang violence, he and parish and community members adopted what was a radical approach at the time: treat gang members as human beings.” No wonder he was a perfect addition to a conference on Interfaith forgiveness and healing for those impacted by the court system!
In 1988, they started what is known today as “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. When Fr. Boyle took the stage to speak to the audience at the conference, those listening could hear the emotion in his voice speaking about some of his "homies" and "home girls" - and their stories and personal accounts of their lives and struggles. Fr. Boyle explained that “everyone belongs to us, none of us are well until all of us are well.” He encouraged listeners to make progress in our world and solve things by “refusing to demonize- that is what God does.” Our God INCLUDES- and that is what we are called to do as His children as well. As the Homeboy Industries founder put it, “kindness is the only non-delusional response to everything.”
The conference was a wonderful opportunity and chance for our community to hear and learn about how we can “walk each other home to wholeness.” This is what mercy looks like- forgiveness would be the prodigal son in the Gospels coming home and the father in the parable waits for him. Mercy, however, mercy RUNS. Mercy runs to the son- and that is what we are called to do for those who have wronged us or need guidance.
Photo of Cardinal Tobin speaking at Kean University on October 24, 2022.
More information on the NJ ReEntry Corporation, including more work they are partnering with the Archdiocese of Newark on, can be found at https://www.njreentry.org/.
Some information in this article was taken directly from Homeboy Industries. More information on Fr. Boyle, their work, and their global impact can be found at https://homeboyindustries.org/.