Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of the Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles in the United States, Gabino Zavala today, after he confessed to having fathered two children.

"The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the post of Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles Gabino Zavala," the Vatican said in a statement, without spelling out why he quit.

The pontiff has demanded action be taken in the case of priests who are homosexual or married, calling on those concerned to hand in their resignations if they cannot abide by their vow of chastity.

"Bishop Zavala informed me in early December that he is the father of two teenage children who live with their mother in another state," L.A. Bishop Jose Gomez said in a separate statement announcing the "sad and difficult" news.

"Zavala also informed me that he submitted his resignation to the Holy Father in Rome, which was accepted," he said.

The Mexican-born Zavala, ordained in 1977, is an influential figure within the Church renowned for his fight to abolish the death penalty in the United States, as well as improve rights for homosexuals and Mexican immigrants.

"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," said Gomez, adding that the family's identity was being withheld.

The American Catholic Church has been rocked by a clerical child abuse scandal which has cost a number of bishops and priests their jobs since 2002.