The Elephant

Jesuit Father Greg Boyle has been working with youth at risk for over 20 years in Los Angeles. He established Homeboy Industries: it is now coed; is a multifaceted ministry; and trains young people for work. When Fr. Boyle cautioned that seeing the shootings and deaths in Newton, Connecticut, last month, from a distant, “aerial view” prevents reaching solutions, his long experience increases his credibility.

“When we take our views lower, we know we need to address guns and we need to address mental illness,” Fr. Boyle said. “The elephant in the room is mental health, which is something I see more and more with the gang population with whom I work.”

Fr. Boyle is not alone. In her response to that massacre forensic psychologist, Karen Franklin, noted that U.S. “culture...glorifies violence.” That blunts outrage and prevents outrage from leading to concrete solutions. Instead, the country indulges in “more hand-wringing.”

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Wiki-image by Bbjeter of makeshift memorial at Sandy Hook used by CC BY-SA 3.0.