A Los Angeles Catholic Bishop Who Was a Pro-Life Champion is Murdered
Bishop Dave O’Connell was found dead by police last Saturday from a gunshot wound to the chest.
Police have arrested 65 year old Carlos Medina, the husband of Bishop O’Connell’s housekeeper.
Pam Stenzel, a pro-life educator who herself was conceived in rape, told American ProLifer that she remembers Bishop O’Connell as a tireless worker “for all of God’s children, unborn and born, young and old.”
“Many of us are still in shock and heartbroken trying to grasp his sudden death and how he died. He was certainly one of the holiest men of God I have known,” stated Ms. Stenzel.
There are so many fond memories of Bishop Dave.
He was on the Board of Advisors for Vox Vitae. He spoke at our camps and loved the youth, attended many events, 40 Days vigils and much more.
Bishop Dave deeply cared for all of us as his children. He blessed our lives with his humor, gentleness, fatherly kindness and compassion.
Pam Stenzel
Bishop Dave O’Connell as born in County Cork, Ireland, and had served as a priest in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles since 1979.
In an official statement from the Archdiocese, Archbishop Jose Gomez praised Bishop O’Connell.
He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected … Every day he worked to show compassion to the poor, to the homeless, to the immigrant, and to all those living on society’s margins.
Statement of Archbishop Jose Gomez
The Archbishop of Los Angeles broke down repeatedly during a press conference announcing the death of the Bishop and the arrest of the alleged killer.
A candlelight vigil for the repose of Bishop O’Connell’s soul attracted hundreds of people who came to mourn and pay their respects to the beloved priest.
