Kids join gangs not because they seek something, such as belonging, but "always" because they are "fleeing something…with no exceptions."
There are three general profiles of kids who join gangs, Fr. Boyle said: first, "there's the kid who's despondent and who can't imagine tomorrow"; second, "the kid who's traumatized, who doesn't know how to transform his pain, so he continues to transmit it"; and finally, the mentally ill.
By identifying these causes, the roots of gang affiliation can be addressed, the priest reflected.
"We would infuse hope to the kid for whom hope is foreign; and we would heal the traumatized, damaged kids; and we would deliver mental health services in a timely fashion to the kid who's mentally ill."
CNA also spoke to a former gang member, Terry Davis, who is now a filmmaker in New York City.
Davis grew up in the suburbs of Columbia, South Carolina, and emphasized in a May 24 interview that gang violence is not limited to inner cities.
"A lot of people from the hood used to come to the suburban community where we stayed at…and jump us, try to rob us, because they looked at us as being suburban kids, and that's what made us band together and make our own gang, to fight back against them," he explained.
South Carolina's gang problem was largely class-based, he said, explaining that he was able to escape that lifestyle by attending college.
Fr. Boyle said Davis' story isn't "very typical," but does reflect the fact that gang life is less dramatic than it is held to be in the popular imagination.
For people seeking to act in solidarity with those in cycles of gang violence, the priest advised looking to Christ's example.
"What you want to do in living the faith, is…take seriously what Jesus took seriously. And what's the motivation behind living the Gospel, and accompanying the poor, and doing what we do here? It's all based in absolute love, there isn't any fear; it's not driven by fear."
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Fr. Boyle said that he is "quite heartened" by Pope Francis, whom he described as "kind of full-speed ahead."
"There was a homily he gave the other day…about making messes, and being comfortable with mess."
"As long as you're trying to live the Gospel, you going to make mistakes," Fr. Boyle emphasized, but "the measure of our help always is how expansive, and how spacious is our response."
"That's a response that more greatly resembles the God we in fact have."
Carl Bunderson is the former managing editor of Catholic News Agency.