In places like Compton and East L.A., Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated as a symbol of hope and protection. She is the protector of the unborn, the oppressed and the immigrants.
Perhaps even more shocking than the brazen killing of UnitedHealthcare C.E.O. Brian Thompson was the response in some places to this crime: celebration, lionization and valorization of the killer.
We are at a critical juncture in the U.S. death penalty abolition movement. And we as Catholics—including President Biden—can heed the words of Pope Francis and light the way.