MOORPARK : Priest Delivers Novel Anti-Gang Message

Tulio Perez, 46, didn’t hear what he’d expected at a talk by Father Gregory J. Boyle, an East Los Angeles priest famous for his work with gang members.

Perez was one of about 150 people who went to Moorpark Community High School on Monday to hear Boyle talk about ways to steer youth away from gang activity.

“I thought he was going to come over here and he was going to tell us to lock them up,” Perez said.

But “he gave us the other side of the coin.”

Boyle, pastor of Dolores Mission Church in one of East Los Angeles’ poorest barrios, warned Moorpark and Simi Valley residents not to repeat Los Angeles County’s mistakes in dealing with gang violence.

For the past 10 years, Boyle said, Los Angeles residents have relied on the police to stop youth violence, an approach that he called a total failure.

Poverty, boredom and a lack of jobs for youth are among the problems that lead to gang activity, Boyle told the racially diverse audience, which included three Moorpark City Council members.

“The great temptation is to want the quick fix,” Boyle said. But “this problem requires everyone rolling up their sleeves, hunkering down” to create jobs and educational and recreational activities for youths at risk of joining gangs.

During the event, sponsored by the Our Town youth group and Moorpark Community High School, several Moorpark youths told Boyle they need jobs and organized recreational activities in their city.

Their point was driven home when the priest asked how many people had seen “American Me,” a movie about gang violence.

Only a few raised their hands.

“Don’t you have a movie theater in Moorpark?” Boyle said.

“No!” yelled a group of youths in the audience. The nearest theaters are in Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks.

Several Moorpark adults said later that they hoped Boyle’s talk would inspire city officials to start a jobs program for youth.