CAMDEN — Forty years after Father Michael Doyle arrived on Camden’s streets, he said little has improved.

“A section of the riverfront,” he said in an interview last week. “(In 1968) when I got to the river’s edge, all the stones were black. But the stones are not black today.”

As for progress, less pollution in the Delaware River is as good as it gets.

Doyle, the 33-year monsignor and pastor of Sacred Heart Church in South Camden, stands in his sanctuary and still marvels at the 100-year-old canvas ceilings and stained glass windows signaling peace and harmony. But he recognizes that outside his church walls are vacant homes and someone needing saving. The 73-year-old Doyle doesn’t fret or complain because he sees ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

“There are many people in this city acting as heroes living against the odds. They are trying to save the children against the danger around them,” Doyle said. “Has God forgotten us? No, no, no, no . . . positives leap from the negative in Camden.”

Doyle’s words and sermons have inspired Camden residents and his congregation for decades. He was one of the Camden 28, a group of anti-war protesters who broke into a Camden draft office in 1971.

He’s also known for privately fundraising for his school through monthly letters encouraging South Jersey residents to provide for children.

In honor of Doyle, a documentary narrated by Martin Sheen was produced. Titled “Poet of Poverty,” the 55-minute film combines heartbreaking images and Doyle’s letters, said Sean Dougherty, the producer of the movie and director of operations of a local charity, Hopeworks ‘N Camden.

“Doyle tries to get out how a place like Camden could exist in the richest state of the union and the richest country in the world,” Dougherty said. “All of us have a role in why Camden is how it is. Our trash, our poor, our scrap metal, it all gets sent there . . . There is a sense of justice that isn’t right.”

The movie starts with an anecdote from 2003 when one of Doyle’s middle school students tells him he’s not afraid of the terrorists because if they were to fly over Camden, they would have thought the city had already been bombed.

Doyle said he was initially stunned by the statement from one of his Sacred Heart School students. But then he realized the truth of these words.

“Baghdad will have a new infrastructure before Camden,” Doyle said with confidence. “This is a city of tragedy.”

When he first saw the movie, even he wept.

“When I saw the film, I had to go out and sit under a tree and cry,” Doyle said.

The film originally aired to a sold-out crowd at Rutgers University in Camden earlier this month. The film’s popularity has led to a second showing Friday at Antioch Baptist Church Parish at 609 Ferry Ave. Tickets are $20, but all proceeds are donated to the Heart of Camden, a local nonprofit that works to improve the city housing and neighborhoods.

Doyle started Heart of Camden in 1983 in order to rehabilitate the vacant homes around the parish. Now the charity is preparing to celebrate it’s 25th anniversary, and Doyle’s legacy continues to inspire.

“We make them livable, and get a family of need into them,” said Helene Pierson, executive director of the Heart of Camden.

Reach Joseph Gidjunis at (856) 486-2604 or jgidjunis@gannett.com

Camden Courier Post