From humble beginnings in southwest Mexico, Gabino Zavala entered the priesthood and embarked on a remarkable journey that landed him squarely in the corner offices of the nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese.An auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, he oversaw the church's vast San Gabriel region, a diverse community considered vital to the future of the church. Then, from his pulpit, he became a forceful champion for social and economic justice.Bishop resigns: An article in the Jan. 5 Section A about the resignation of Gabino Zavala, an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles who fathered two children, said a parishioner was "relieved to learn that the Vatican had confronted and dealt with Zavala's transgressions." Zavala submitted his resignation at the time he informed the Vatican of the children. —Popular and approachable, Zavala was widely known by his first name. To many, that sensibility made the Vatican's announcement on Wednesday unthinkable: For more than a decade, Zavala had harbored a dark secret. He is the father, church officials said, of two children, and had resigned his post.Zavala's fatherhood, a violation of canon laws of celibacy for priests, was the first controversy to rock the local church during the tenure of Archbishop Jose Gomez , who succeeded Roger Mahony last year. Gomez responded with a blunt letter to his flock on Wednesday announcing the resignation, which elicited shock, despair and, among some, a palpable sense of betrayal."He is the father of two minor teenage children, who live with their mother in another state," the letter said. "Let us pray for all those impacted by this situation and for each other."The Vatican did not immediately name Zavala's successor. Gomez declined to be interviewed, and the church declined to disclose further details. Asked whether Zavala was involved in the children's lives, and why the information suddenly surfaced after so many years, archdiocese spokesman Tod M. Tamberg said: "Those are questions for Bishop Zavala to answer."Zavala, who is no longer in ministry but remains a priest and bishop, could not be reached for comment. The voice mail on his cellphone was full and no one answered the door of his home in the Hacienda Heights foothills.Tamberg noted that the church, which learned of the situation in December but had to wait for the Vatican to announce the resignation, had investigated the finances of Zavala's office and confirmed that there was no misuse of church money to support the children. Zavala, despite his prominence, earns a relatively modest priest's salary, and the archdiocese has offered financial support to help pay for the children's college.Zavala's resignation is likely to spark renewed debate over the ecclesiastical laws of celibacy. The earliest popes — St. Peter himself, under some interpretations — were married men and fathers. Later, in the fourth century, church officials concluded that men who were not celibate "shall be deprived of the honor of the clerical life."The idea was to mimic the sacrificing, chaste life of Jesus — for priests to be married, in a sense, to the church. But in recent years, hundreds of theologians have argued that the rules are dated and needlessly restrictive."It's self-evident — celibacy does not work," said Father Richard McBrien, a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame. Younger priests influenced by conservative Vatican administrators in recent years "think celibacy is the crown jewel of the priesthood," he said. "That's nonsense."A.W. Richard Sipe, a former Benedictine priest and retired psychotherapist in La Jolla, said there was "no question" the Zavala's case raises questions about celibacy standards, and he said he hoped it would spark an overdue review. "I want it discussed openly and honestly," he said.Zavala, 60, was raised in Los Angeles and ordained in 1977, and had overseen the San Gabriel region since 1994. One of the archdiocese's five pastoral regions, San Gabriel is home to 66 parishes, 13 high schools and hundreds of thousands of the area's five million Catholics.Zavala's work resonated far beyond Southern California. He served as the president of Pax Christi USA, an influential group that lobbies against war and violence, was a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and led efforts to foster cultural and ethnic diversity in the church, especially among fellow Latinos. He argued passionately for an end to capital punishment and, like many priests, for immigration reform and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants.But he stepped deeper into the arena of social justice than many of his peers — resigning from a national gay and lesbian ministries association, for instance, after the Vatican tightened controls over how the church reaches out to homosexuals. And amid grumbling from some corners that the church has remained silent as initiatives have been launched across the nation to limit or eliminate labor unions, Zavala struck out on his own, decrying those efforts as "a moral failure that undermines values at the heart of our democracy.""The sad reality," he wrote in one missive, "is that many of the same CEOs who eviscerate workers' rights have awarded themselves generous bonuses. Elected officials who rely on political contributions from corporate lobbyists take away basic rights for workers even as they lavish the wealthiest Americans with tax breaks."Javier Stauring, co-director of the archdiocese's Office of Restorative Justice, which assists people who are incarcerated, victims of crime and relatives of both, has worked alongside Zavala for 20 years. Most years, Zavala performed Christmas and Easter masses at juvenile detention halls. ||||| Image caption Bishop Zavala was known for his work with California's Hispanic community 
 
 A Catholic bishop who fathered two children has stepped down. 
 
 Pope Benedict has accepted the resignation of Gabino Zavala, an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, the Vatican said. 
 
 The Archbishop of Los Angeles, Jose Gomez, wrote in a letter to worshippers that Bishop Zavala told him in December that he was the father of two teenage children. 
 
 The children, who are minors, live with their mother in another state. 
 
 Archbishop Gomez said that the archdiocese was offering the family "spiritual care," as well as funding to help the children with college costs. 
 
 In his letter he described the news as "sad and difficult" and said Bishop Zavala had been living privately and not participating in ministry since resigning. 
 
 Bishop Zavala is 60 and was born in Mexico. He has campaigned against the death penalty and for immigrants' rights. 
 
 The Vatican did not spell out the reason for Bishop Zavala's resignation in its statement, but made reference to canon law which allows bishops to step down before normal retirement age if they are ill or unfit for office for some other reason. 
 
 The Pope has shown no sign of relaxing the Roman Catholic Church's rule on priestly celibacy, which has been in place since the 11th Century. 
 
 Image caption The Pope has made clear that he has no plans to change the rule of priestly celibacy 
 
 In March 2010 he described celibacy as "the sign of full devotion, the entire commitment to the Lord and to the 'Lord's business', an expression of giving oneself to God and to others". 
 
 Priests are not allowed to marry but married Anglican priests who convert to Catholicism are exempted from the celibacy rule. 
 
 Two days ago Pope Benedict appointed an American married priest to head the first US structure for Anglicans converting to Roman Catholicism. ||||| One of the most powerful Catholic leaders in the USA, Cardinal Mahony, has been relieved of his duties for failing to protect teens, children from abusive priests 
 
 In this 2007 file photo, Cardinal Roger Mahony speaks during an annual multi-ethnic migration Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles. (Photo: Reed Saxon, AP) Story Highlights Cardinal Mahony was one of the top leaders in the U.S. church 
 
 Documents reveal that he knew about abusers and protected them 
 
 The leading victims group called the action a "meaningless gesture" 
 
 One of the most powerful Catholic leaders in the USA, Cardinal Roger Mahony, the retired archbishop of Los Angeles, has been relieved of his public roles for covering up for sexually abusive priests — a role the current archbishop called "evil." 
 
 Just hours after a court-ordered massive release of priest personnel files revealed the extent of Mahony's role in covering up for known sexual predators, Archbishop José Gómez announced Thursday night that he has relieved Mahony of his remaining duties. 
 
 A former top aide to Mahony also stepped down from his current post. 
 
 This is the first time since the massive abuse scandal exploded in 2002 hen there were direct repercussions for top church officials. In December 2002, Cardinal Bernard Law resigned his post as archbishop of Boston when protesters and priests called for him to step aside. 
 
 "I find these files to be brutal and painful reading," Gómez said in a statement, referring to the newly released files made public by the church Thursday night just hours after a judge's order. "The behavior described in these files is terribly sad and evil. There is no excuse, no explaining away what happened to these children." 
 
 Gómez announced that he has "informed Cardinal Mahony that he will no longer have any administrative or public duties." 
 
 "Gómez also said Thomas Curry, former vicar of the clergy under Mahony who was the cardinal's point person in dealing with priests accused of molestation, has stepped down from his current job as auxiliary bishop for the archdiocese's Santa Barbara region. 
 
 Political scientist and Jesuit priest Thomas Reese opn Friday called it "unprecedented for an archbishop to limit the ministry of his predecessor and publicly take him to task like this. It shows that finally the abuse crisis not only has consequences for the abusing priests but also for the clerics who failed to deal with them properly." 
 
 But it remained unclear early Friday exactly what it means to limit Mahony's duties. He has not been removed from ministry -- the Church's now required policy for abusers. 
 
 An archdiocese spokesman, Tod Tamberg, told the Los Angeles Times that 'beyond canceling his confirmation schedule', Mahony could continue to offer Mass at his North Hollywood parish, and remain a "priest in good standing." 
 
 He can even vote to elect the next pope if Pope Benedict XVI were to die in the next three years. Mahony will turn 77 on Feb. 27 and cardinals are no longer eligible to vote at age 80. 
 
 And the leading victims group was not satisfied. David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) said in a statement Thursday night, "Hand-slapping Cardinal Roger Mahony is a nearly meaningless gesture. 
 
 "When he had real power, and abused it horribly, he should have been demoted or disciplined by the church hierarchy, in Rome and in the US. But not a single Catholic cleric anywhere had the courage to even denounce him. Shame on them." 
 
 The resignation of Bishop Thomas Curry, said Clohessy, is " a small, belated step in the right direction, though it's obviously only being done because the horrific extent of his complicity is about to become publicly known. He should have been fired long ago." 
 
 Both Mahony and Curry issued public apologies earlier this month. 
 
 Thursday's actions came within hours after the public release of some 30,000 pages from the confidential files of priests accused of child molestation. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Emilie Elias ordered the diocese to turn over without blacking out the names of top church officials who were responsible for handling priests accused of abuse. 
 
 Terence McKiernan, president of the online site, BishopAccountability.org which tracks church documents in the abuse crisis, complained Thursday night in a statement that Gómez only acted when the documents became public and that the pope should remove Mahony not only from his top ranking as a cardinal, a "prince of the church" but also from the priesthood itself. 
 
 "Gómez has had these documents for months and known about Mahony's wrongdoing long before now. And yet Mahony has continued to be an honored prelate and prince of the church. The difference is that now the people have access to evidence of Mahony's misdeeds. Sadly, we see the church acting ethically in these matters only when its actions become known," McKiernan said. 
 
 "Mahony's misdeeds deserve a much more substantial punishment than the tweaking of his administrative status by someone junior to him in the church's hierarchical society. Pope Benedict XVI should remove Mahony from the College of Cardinals." 
 
 Mahony led the archdiocese for 25 years until he retired in 2011. Were it not for his role in covering up for abuse, his legacy would 
 
 Bishop Robert W. Finn of Missouri, who was convicted last September of failing to report a priest suspected of abuse to authorities, has remained in office and unpunished by the church despite his unprecedented guilty plea. 
 
 Church observers say Gomez must have had clearance from Rome to rebuke Mahony, says David Gibson of Religion News Service. 
 
 Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Friday that "the Vatican is aware of the Los Angeles diocese's latest decisions but this matter is in the hands of the local archbishop." 
 
 Mahony has lectured widely on immigration issues and the future of the church since retiring in March 2011. Mahony remains eligible to vote for a new pope until he turns 80, in three years. Lombardi noted that the suspension does not affect the "other duties assigned by the pope to Cardinal Mahony in the Curia." 
 
 Jerry Filteau of the National Catholic Reporter also noted that the church's Code of Canon Law gives cardinals a privileged position and even says that they are "exempt from the power of governance of the bishop of the diocese in which they are residing." 
 
 Mahony, who was archbishop from 1985 to 2011 and a cardinal since 1991, championed social justice and immigrant rights and built a massive new cathedral in the heart of Los Angeles. 
 
 But when he retired, story after story detailed the decade he spent fighting abuse victims and their lawyers to hide L.A. church officials role in protecting and promoting known abusers and shuffling them from one parish to another. 
 
 By the time of Mahony's retirement, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles had paid $660 million in settlements to 500 victims. 
 
 Contributing: Associated Press: Alessandro Speciale and David Gibson, Religion News Service 
 
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– A Los Angeles bishop has resigned after he revealed to his superiors that he has a secret family. Mexican-born Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, 60, is the father of two teenage children who live with their mother in another state, reports the BBC. LA Archbishop Jose Gomez said the archdiocese is offering the family "spiritual care," as well as funding to help with college costs. He called the situation "sad and difficult." Zavala's resignation has been accepted by the Vatican. The popular, influential bishop has been known as a champion of immigration rights and social and economic justice. "He is a wonderful advocate for the marginalized communities—the outcasts," a co-worker told the Los Angeles Times. "It was his understanding of God and our faith—that there is a preferential love for those who are suffering and those who are going through difficult times." His resignation is bound to re-ignite a debate over celibacy for Catholic clerics. "It's self-evident—celibacy does not work," said Father Richard McBrien, a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame.