Scandal! Catholic Bishop Quits After Revealing He Has Two Kids

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Catholic scandal lite: the Pope has accepted the resignation of Los Angeles' auxiliary bishop Gabino Zavala after he revealed that he secretly fathered two teenage kids.

Zavala, 60, submitted his resignation citing canon code that allows bishops to step down early in case they have a medical condition or are unfit for office, according to the Associated Press. Having a few kids, of course, has been making Catholic priests unfit for duty since the 11th century, and the current Pope shows no signs of changing that tradition.

Here's the text of the letter from the Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez to worshipers posted on the Catholic News Service website:

I have some sad and difficult information to share with you. Bishop Gabino Zavala, auxiliary bishop for the San Gabriel Pastoral Region, informed me in early December that he is the father of two minor teenage children, who live with their mother in another state.
Bishop Zavala also told me that he submitted his resignation to the Holy Father in Rome, which was accepted. Since that time, he has not been in ministry and will be living privately.
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.

Zavala, 60, was born in Mexico, but he grew up in Los Angeles and began his ministry at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in East L.A. He was an advocate for worker and immigrant rights and against the death penalty.

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By Emma G. Gallegos in News on January 4, 2012 10:30 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

Jen

I don't get what the big deal is. You can molest children and keep your job, but have a relationship that produces healthy normal children who you support and you're out on the street. He's not a threat to San Jose home security.

BombaySplashVermouth

He sure sounds like a traditional catholic, probably republican to boot.

zombiebob

nope, a traditional Catholic Priest would have been providing extra 'guidance' to alter boys. What kind of a non-child molesting male would agree to a life-time of celibacy? Other than this particular Bishop of course :-)

chrisspurgeon

The Catholic Church is welcome to pay my kids' college costs too.

zombiebob

so what's the big deal? this means he is a normal male human being. It's not like he was diddling little boys, in which case he would have just been moved to Massachusetts.

theonlyseven

Catholics consider sex outside of marriage a sin. It's not so much a big deal as one more example of the hypocrisy that is the Catholic church.

DonKeysHoTea

at least he was banging a WOMAN! lesser of two evils, i'm thinking...

LICnative

Those damn heterosexual, adult woman loving priests will be the end of the world as we know it.

AndrewInDC

Yes, his superiors were outraged that he had productive, consensual sex with someone of the opposite gender. So naturally, they demanded his resignation.

Father Thomas, on the other hand, who diddles little boys gets shuffled around and protected.

Priorities, people. Priorities.

Rocknrope

I read that headline and thought it meant that he had two kids locked up for his perversions. You know things are fucked when clergy just siring children is a relief.