to the criminal justice system and to abolish the death penalty. He got involved in prison ministry and would bring parishioners on visits to local prisons. In May 2011, Zavala was recognized as a 'giant of justice' by Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) . In June 2011, he wrote an editorial for the National Catholic Reporter about an “unprecedented assault on workers’ rights now spreading across the country". Resignation and legacy On January 4, 2012, Archbishop José Gómez announced that Pope Benedict XVI had accepted Zavala's resignation as auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles. In December 2011, Zavala disclosed to Gómez that he was the father of two teenage children. The pope accepted Zavala's resignation under Code of Canon Law c. 401 §2. In his announcement, Gómez stated that Zavala had not been in ministry since the revelation, and that he "will be living privately". Gómez also said that the unidentified children were minors living with their mother in another state, and that the archdiocese would assist them with college costs. Though not specified, the Los Angeles Times revealed that Zavala's relationship with the children's mother was "more than a passing relationship." See also Catholic Church hierarchy Catholic Church in the United States Historical list of the Catholic bishops of the United States List of Catholic bishops of the United States Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops References External links Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles Official Site Episcopal succession 1951 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Loyola Marymount University faculty Mexican emigrants to the United States Mexican people of Basque descent People from Tijuana Catholic University of America School of Canon Law alumni 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States People from Guerrero People from East Los Angeles, California