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b'Summary of today\\u2019s show: For the last 34 years, Fr. Joe Baggetta has served as chaplain of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Corrections, living out Fr. Edward \\u201cBoys Town\\u201d Flanagan\\u2019s dictum that there are no bad boys, just bad examples and bad environments. Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O\\u2019Connor have a conversation with Fr. Joe about how his short career as a prison guard before (and during!) seminary helped prepare him for his ministry, as well as the efforts he takes in showing unconditional love and acceptance to his kids in order to give them the childhood they have been deprived of.\\nListen to the show:\\n\\nToday\\u2019s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O\\u2019Connor\\nToday\\u2019s guest(s): Fr. Joseph Baggetta\\nLinks from today\\u2019s show:\\n\\n\\n\\n\\nToday\\u2019s topics: Priest Profile: Fr. Joseph Baggetta\\n1st segment: Scot and Fr. Chris said they are 4 days away from the ordination to the priesthood of six men for the Archdiocese of Boston. Fr. Chris said they are seeing a whole bumper crop of great young men answering the Lord\\u2019s call. Fr. Chris said the men are on retreat this week with Fr. John McLaughlin in preparation. The Cardinal has a meal with the men on Friday night and then meets with them individually to give them their first parish assignments. They discussed the logistics for the event, including providing hospitality to some friends and family who are coming into town from overseas.\\nScot said the most moving moment for him is the first priestly blessings. Fr. Chris said for him the two moments are when the Cardinal places his hands on the ordinand\\u2019s head to call down the Holy Spirit and then when the Cardinal receives the first blessing from the priests and then kisses their hands.\\nScot said Fr. Baggetta is the chaplain to the Department of Youth Corrections and works to help reform youth who have been incarcerated and to help them re-enter society.\\nPhotos of the ordination will be available live this Saturday at [BostonCatholicPhotos.com]\\n2nd segment: Scot welcomed Fr. Joe Baggetta to the show. He asked him about growing up in the North End. His parents were born in Abruzzi and Calabria, Italy, and he was born here in the US. Fr. Joe said his parents didn\\u2019t speak very good English, so he speaks Italian. He went to school at St. Leonard\\u2019s and attended Christopher Columbus High School, both in the North End.\\nHe went to Merrimack College and it was a cultural shock for being far away from the city. It\\u2019s one of the half-dozen Catholic colleges in the Archdiocese. It\\u2019s run by the Augustinians. He\\u2019d had inklings of the priesthood, but never coalesced. When he got out of college, he worked as a prison guard at the Charles Street Jail. He said the old-timers always told the young guys that when the jail was too quiet, be careful. It was the lull before the storm. He took the job because he needed a job, not because he had a particular idea of making it a career. He spent six years there and strange as it may seem, Fr. Joe says he enjoyed it, having learned a lot about life. He saw the humanness and goodness within a majority of the inmates, while also seeing the worst part of humanity. It was a county jail, so they were being held while awaiting trial as well as men who were serving sentences of 2-1/2 years or less.\\nFr. Chris said the Charles Street Jail is now the Liberty Hotel, which is now beautiful. Fr. Joe sat down with historians to help provide a history of the jail in an exhibit in the hotel. Fr. Joe said there were 400-500 men in the jail when it was open.\\nFr. Joe felt in his heart at the time that there was a way to assist the inmates. He saw how the chaplains had men gravitate to them and he saw the faith in the inmates. Fr. Joe started doing some reading and learned there war religious orders who worked with those who had fallen onto the wayward path.\\nFr. Joe attended St. John Seminary where he had a great experience. On every vacation and every summer, he would continue to work at the jail. The inmates seemed to expect more mercy than justice from him. He was ordained in 1974. There were 15 men in his class and 9 continue to be in the priesthood in the Archdiocese. Scot noted that Fr. Kevin Deeley and Fr. Jerry Hogan were in his class and they continue to be great friends. Fr. Joe said the 38 years have flown by.\\nFr. Joe\\u2019s first assignment was St. Catherine of Siena in Norwood. The parish is massive. They had 1,500 kids in CCD, in addition to all the kids in the parochial school. Even to this day, St. Catherine\\u2019s remains a tremendous supporter of his ministry.\\nHe was then assigned as chaplain at St. Sebastian\\u2019s high school. Cardinal Medeiros called him and said he would be assigned to be Dean of Discipline. He was also going to be part-time working at the Department of Youth Services. It was the complete spectrum of teens from those who had everything to those who had nothing. But there was a common thread was that they were just kids with the same feelings and the same things they were going through in their lives. There were six priests on staff at the archdiocesan school.\\nScot said may consider St. Sebastian\\u2019s to be an elite high school. Fr. Chris said the St. Sebastian\\u2019s students are well-formed in the Christian life. Fr. Joe said they are often going into major fields affecting society with this good formation.\\nFr. Joe did double-duty for five years and has remained at Department of Youth Corrections ever since.\\n3rd segment: Scot asked Fr. Joe if this was the sort of ministry he asked for. Fr. Joe said he promised obedience at ordination and so Cardinal Medeiros called him to assume the position and it\\u2019s worked out very well. He\\u2019s extremely happy. He assists in changing the inner hearts of the individuals. He admires Fr. Edward Flanagan from Boys Town who said he firmly believes every child can be a productive citizen if given love, a home, an education ,and a trade. He also said that there are no bad boys, there is only bad environment, bad training, bad example, and bad thinking. In his ministry, he tries to change the bad environment, bad training, bad example, and bad thinking to give them an opportunity to be and feel loved, to give them a home environment, to give them an education and a trade.\\nFr. Chris said he will be visiting Boys Town this coming week. It\\u2019s an amazing place that shows the benefit of investing in youth. He said Aristotle teaches us that we learn virtue by seeing other practice it. When there isn\\u2019t virtue in our life, how will we learn it? Fr. Joe said example is tremendous. The staff at the department are excellent models of character and goodness as well as the Catholic volunteers who come in.\\nScot asked for an overview of the Department of Youth Corrections. Within the Commonwealth, it is separate from Youth Services. Their philosophy is that the kids are able to change. The difference from the adult program is that they do their set time. It is metric. The youth correction is not metric, but is about helping them change their heart and mind. The juvenile is committed to the Department for services until the age of 21. Some of the kids are living at home, but they are committed to the department. The majority of kids are between 13 and 21.\\nScot said he thinks it\\u2019s great that this state office has a Catholic chaplain committed to caring for all the children in their care. He asked what the job entails? Fr. Joe said a part is the celebration of the sacraments and religious education, but also the chaplain\\u2019s role is one of presence, to assist them, to talk to them. It\\u2019s also the corporal works of mercy so when a kid leaves and needs clothes, they get it for them; on their birthday give them a card and a gift; Christmas gifts for all; work with family to make sure the kids get a card on their birthdays and holidays. They do many things, but they do it in the name of Jesus, showing them unconditional love and acceptance.\\nIn 34 years, Fr. Joe has never asked to see a resident\\u2019s file. He doesn\\u2019t want to know why they\\u2019re there. He wants to love them unconditionally.\\nFr. Chris said many of the kids need that encounter with Christ. He asked what\\u2019s most effective in reaching them? Is he overwhelmed by the numbers? Fr. Joe said he isn\\u2019t overwhelmed, but understands how one can be. This was the benefit of his correctional days. That unconditional love, calling them by their first name in a place when they are always called by their last name, creates a loving, calming effect. He watches TV with them, listens to music with them, plays games with them. The majority of them have never had a childhood, so they\\u2019re trying to give them positive memories. He often receives letters that went into the adult system, thanking him for the good memories.\\nFr. Chris asked about the success stories. Fr. Joe said he will be walking down the street and someone will beep their horn at them, and it will be one of the kids who\\u2019s out of trouble and has a job. He got a call from California about a kid now working on the oil rigs. He comes into town and takes Father out to dinner every time. Fr. Joe recalls two kids who were afraid to go back to school in their neighborhood so he got them into Cathedral High School, where they did tremendously. After graduation, they had a contact at Gillette who pledged to send the kids to any school they could get into and so they went to Johnson & Wales to study business. They both got MBAs and went to work for major corporations. At Christmas they have their big bonuses from their employers an they now donate them to help other kids go to college.\\nFr. Joe said the majority of the kids he works with are Roman Catholic. Those who are not, the attitude is still unconditional love and acceptance. They are all welcome to come to Mass. All religious activities are optional. They get the same treatment as everyone else. He said the Knights of Columbus have renovated a portable building to use as a chapel. Fr. Joe wanted the youth to be able to leave the facility, which is incarceration, to go to a place of freedom.\\nScot said the chapel is 12 foot by sixty feet. On a weekend, Fr. Joe says 6 Masses.\\nFr. Chris asked if he\\u2019s seeing a second generation of kids. Fr. Joe said he\\u2019s seeing the children of those who he first started working with in his 34 years.\\nScot asked what the major reasons kids end up in the system. Fr. Joe said it\\u2019s like Fr. Flanagan said. It\\u2019s not totally environment though because there are many kids who come from the same background who do the right thing. That\\u2019s because the parents, guardian, grandparent is transmitting the values. If they don\\u2019t value education or value work, they\\u2019re not going to get up for school or a job.\\nIn today\\u2019s climate, gangs are the most prevalent reason for kids getting into the system. The kids don\\u2019t call them gangs. They call them family because the yard provided food, clothing, affirmation. They feel respect for who they are. Because they\\u2019re now entrenched in this and becomes such a part of their identity, if they see someone of another gang, they must retaliate. It\\u2019s difficult because the kids say they can either work for minimum wage or stand on a corner as a lookout for drug dealers and make $500 per night.\\nIn the department, they put kids of different gangs together for them to know them as a name, as a person. They also try to show them that there is more than the present, but that there is a future.\\nScot asked if the kids are taught trades. Fr. Joe said there is a maintenance department where they work with the maintenance people. The majority are not going to graduate from high school, so they will get jobs where they use their hands. They teach them that they are as important no matter what they do, that doctors or lawyers are not more important than they. They also teach them culinary arts and other skills.\\nFr. Joe said St. Anthony is one of his favorite saints because he is the patron of finding that which is lost, and it isn\\u2019t just about finding the car keys. He finds the lost souls. Also, Don Bosco and St. Vincent de Paul. It\\u2019s Don Bosco\\u2019s unconditional love and acceptance of street kids that he admires.\\nScot asked about the misconceptions that people have about the kids in the care of Youth Corrections. Fr. Joe said most people see these kids as throwaways, that they have no future. People have even told him that he\\u2019s wasting his priesthood. Fr. Joe said he is having an effect through the work of the Lord. These are ultimately children of God and they are our children. These kids have not had the opportunity so let\\u2019s give them the opportunity. They are children at heart, they cry at night, they hurt like other children. One kid said the only thing he wanted for Christmas was to have a family.\\nFor those who want to help, contact the Mass. State Knights of Columbus who continue to support the Chapel of Hope. He can also be reached at St. James the Great in Chinatown.'