Ohio Dominican University will welcome Father Gregory Boyle, S.J. at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018 to discuss his New York Times-bestselling book, “Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion.” The event will take place in Alumni Hall, which is located on ODU’s campus at 1216 Sunbury Road, Columbus, 43219. The presentation is free and open to the public. There is no need to register for the event.

"Tattoos on the Heart” is the common read during the 2017-18 academic year at ODU.

Gregory Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, Calif., the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world.

A Jesuit priest, from 1986 to 1992 Father Boyle served as pastor of Dolores Mission Church, then the poorest Catholic parish in Los Angeles that also had 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, when gang-related killings averaged over 1,000 each year.  In the face of law enforcement tactics and criminal justice policies of suppression and mass incarceration as the means to end gang violence, Father Boyle and parish and community members adopted what was a radical approach at the time: treat gang members as human beings. 

In 1988 they 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, the White House 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.

This presentation is one of several presentations during the 2017-18 academic year based on the university’s academic theme: The Common Good. ODU's Core Curriculum is a series of courses that provide a unifying academic experience throughout each student's academic journey. The curriculum is unique to Ohio Dominican, and is a combination of four seminar courses and the general degree requirements. In the Core seminars, students draw from all of their courses to engage in thought-provoking interdisciplinary discussions, readings and experiences about themes such as the common good, justice, truth and what it means to be human.

http://www.ohiodominican.edu/future-students/odu-news-events/news-item/2018/01/03/author-gregory-boyle-to-present-at-odu-on-feb.-8