LOS ANGELES (AP) — An auxiliary bishop in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles resigned after admitting that he fathered two children who are now teenagers.

Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of Gabino Zavala. He was in charge of the San Gabriel Region in the nation's most populous archdiocese.

In a letter to the faithful, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez said Zavala told him in December that he had two children who live with their mother in a different state. Gomez said the archdiocese has offered to help with the children's college costs.

Archdiocesan spokesman Tod Tamberg says it appears Zavala had a consensual affair with an adult but he has no other details.

The Vatican will choose a replacement.