Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Gabino Zavala as auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles after the prelate disclosed he was the father of two teenage children, the Vatican said Wednesday.
The 60-year-old Zavala served as auxiliary bishop for the San Gabriel Pastoral Region of the Southern California archdiocese, the Catholic News Service said.
The official announcement comes about a month after Zavala informed Los Angeles Archibishop Jose Gomez that he had fathered two children now living with their mother in another state.
“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. The family’s identity is not known to the public, and I wish to respect their right to privacy,” Archbishop Gomez said in an open letter to Catholics in Greater Los Angeles.
Zavala stepped back from the ministry after telling the archdiocese about the children and “will be living privately,” Gomez said.
