Police have arrested the husband of a local catholic Bishop’s housekeeper on suspicion of murder. Bishop David O’Connell was killed in his Hacienda Heights home on Saturday afternoon. He served the Catholic community in Los Angeles for more than 40 years. He worked mainly in South LA and tried to make peace between gang members. He also worked with immigrants and unhoused people.
“He was very much a community activist in terms of dealing with local politicians and other church officials to try to come up with programs that could help … the community in general. … [He was giving] communion to people who are homebound, dealing with people in crisis,” says Mary McNamara, culture columnist and critic for the Los Angeles Times.
She adds that O'Connell reminded her why good people become priests: “His faith in the teachings of Jesus Christ, as written in the New Testament, was deep and sincere. … He used that teaching to … make the world and the city better, the lives of the people around him better. And I had forgotten, with all of the scandals and … terrible news … and the dwindling number of priests … you forget what the job is supposed to be. And you forget that faith can … be used as a power for very good change, and I was very grateful for him for that.”