Catholic sa n Fr a ncisco Northern California’s Weekly Catholic Newspaper
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Catholics from around the State march to the Capitol Building in Sacramento to meet with legislators on the fourth annual Catholic Lobby Day.
Gospel message sets theme for meetings with lawmakers By Patrick Joyce Grassroots Catholics, in Sacramento for the fourth annual Lobby Day meetings with state lawmakers, rallied for social justice last week after being inspired by a homily that was both a call to action and a warning about complacency. “When we think of stiff-necked people, we always think the stiff-necked people are somebody else – those guys over there – but that’s really us,” Father Greg Boyle, told 900 people, including about 75 parishioners from the Archdiocese of San Francisco, at a Mass beginning the annual Catholic Lobby Day in Sacramento. Father Boyle, a Jesuit who works with street gang members in Los Angeles, based his homily on the Second Reading of the Mass describing the martyrdom of St. Stephen. Just before his death, Stephen had enraged his opponents by calling them a “stiffnecked people.” In working for justice today, Father Boyle said, “We don’t stand against stiff-necked people. We stand against forgetting. Mother Teresa said, ‘We have forgotten that we belong to each other.’” “You stand against forgetting,” he told the congregation in Sacramento’s Crest Theatre. “We belong to each other. There are 622 men and women on death row. We have forgotten that they are our brothers and sisters. State budget cuts target the poor, because we have forgotten, the people on
the margins, their dignity is denied, the poor, the disabled, those who do not have health care. The burden is more than they can bear.” Father Boyle founded Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles to help move young gang members from life on the streets to the world of work. The Los Angeles Times reported last year that the agency has helped 500 gang members “find jobs and selfrespect.” In his homily, Father Boyle talked about Carlos, who came to his Homeboy Industries covered with tattoos on his arms and neck and head, including devil horns on his forehead. “I’m having a hard time finding a job,” he told the priest. “I’ve never worked before.” Father Boyle smiled and sent the young man to the agency’s silk screen operation. The next day, Carlos told him, “It feels proper to be working.” On the bus going home from work, he said, he had talked to his fellow passengers about how great he felt about working. Father Boyle pictured the scene and wondered if the young man with the devil horns had frightened some other passengers who may have thought, “He doesn’t belong to us.” They would have been wrong, he said. “We think that it is us and them, but it’s just us. No one is outside the circle of God’s compassion.” When he was pastor of Dolores Mission Parish, LOBBY DAY, page 19
MOTHER’S DAY
(CNS PHOTO BY CATHY JOYCE, CATHOLIC HERALD)
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Maria Calderon-Romero holds Elizabeth, one of her triplets born in January. The mother and babies are receiving help through Elizabeth Ministry at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Elk Grove, Calif. The program lends support to pregnant women and new mothers.
INSIDE THIS WEEK’S EDITION Politics and religion . . . . . . 3 News-in-brief. . . . . . . . . . 4-5 Epiphany House mothers . . 7 Summer camps/schools . . 7-9 Editorial and letters . . . . . . 14
This Catholic Life: McLaughlin’s new challenge ~ Page 9 ~ May 7, 2004
Scripture and reflection . . . 16
Most Holy Redeemer’s dinners ~ Pages 12-13 ~ FIFTY CENTS
Benedictines’ ‘Chant’ ~ Page 21 ~
Datebook and reviews. . 20-21
www.catholic-sf.org VOLUME 5
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No. 17