Bishop Resigns after Revealing He Is Father of 2 Children

My Fox New York
January 4, 2012

www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/bishop-resigns-after-revealing-he-is-father-of-2-children-20120104-NCX


SAN GABRIEL, Calif. - A Los Angeles bishop has resigned after revealing he is the father of two teenage children, The Vatican announced Wednesday.

Gabino Zavala, the auxiliary bishop for the San Gabriel pastoral region, informed his superiors in December that he had fathered two children, who are living out-of-state with their mother, according to the Catholic News Service .

Catholic law demands a strict vow of celibacy for all priests.

Zavala, 60, reportedly relayed his long-held secret to Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez before submitting his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI.

Gomez on Wednesday sent a letter to Catholics in the archdiocese, informing them of Zavala's resignation and the church's plan to care for his two children.

"The archdiocese has reached out to the mother and children to provide spiritual care as well as funding to assist the children with college costs," Gomez wrote. "The family's identity is not known to the public, and I wish to respect their right to privacy."

Zavala, a native of Los Angeles, was ordained in 1977, according to the Los Angeles Times.