WHY should Catholic Bishop Gabino Zavala, the number two bishop in Los Angeles County seek Chapter 7 relief when priests do have a vow of poverty? I’m just speculating based on the headlines today in the LA times: “L.A. AREA BISHOP, FATHER OF TWO, RESIGNS.” So what if he fathered two kids who now are teenagers, living with their mother in another state. Why should he need Chapter 7 relief?
Archbishop Jose Gomez who succeeded Roger Mahoney responded with a letter to the once again betrayed faithful saying that “He is the father of two minor teenage children, who live with their mother in another state… Let us pray for all those impacted by this situation and for each other.” I am not sure why Archbishop Gomez refers to a Bishop having two kids as a “situation”. Didn’t the bible say go fruitful and multiply? I am also not sure who is impacted by this situation and why we should pray for each other. I mean Bishop Zavala is certainly impacted by this situation but why should I pray for him?
Aside from requiring the Bishop’s resignation, the church investigated the finances of the Bishop and his office and “confirmed that there was no misuse of church money to support the children…” What a relief! For a moment there I thought that all of the 2nd donations every Sunday mass in my church had been going to raising the two Zavala children, for the last 15 years.
If all of the money coursing through the Bishop’s office went to legitimate expenses like the Bishop’s home improvements for his house in Hacienda Heights Hills, perhaps a new kitchen and bathroom now both in papal red, the Bishop’s new Mercedes Benz 500 with custom made “halo” instead of the Benz star, and twenty trips to the Holy Land with his wife and family, then none of the church’s money went to taking care of his wife and two children. But wait. The Bishop, “despite his prominence, earns a relatively modest priest’s salary…” If Mrs. Zavala was not employed, did his two children, and wife wake up every morning to “manna” from heaven in their backyard? Let there be no doubt that not a single cent of donations was used for the Bishop’s wife and family. After all, Bishop Gomez’s letter is stamped with the “imprimatur” of the church attesting to the fact that the investigation findings’ regarding the Bishop’s finances is gospel truth.
Now, if the Bishop’s salary was insufficient, and none of the donations went to his family, in addition to “manna” from heaven, the Bishop must have had some other source of money to give to his family. Like any other debtor whose is forced to provide food, shelter and clothing to his family, Bishop Zavala would have to resort to Visa and Mastercard. Yes, credit card debt would have been used to make up for the difference between “manna” from heaven and the normal things that a family needs to survive.
I don’t know how much the Bishop’s modest salary was; just guessing, maybe $3,000 gross a month. Let’s look as his deductions from gross income: 12% for social security and FICA, 5% for mandatory retirement in the form of a tithe that goes back to him, $200 for health insurance for his family bi-monthly gives him a net take home pay of $2,090 monthly. At least $1,500 would go to rent for his family out of state, leaving $500 for food and nothing is left. The kids would have free tuition in a Catholic grade school to high school and would probably have scholarships to Catholic Universities like Loyola Marymount or Fordham. So, if the Bishop borrowed $1,000 a month from credit cards to supplement his income, he would owe for a period of 15 years at least $200,000 in principal only. I think he would need Chapter 7 relief for that kind of debt given his modest salary and fall from grace.
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Lawrence Bautista Yang specializes in bankruptcy, business, real estate and civil litigation and has successfully represented more than five thousand clients in California. Please call Angie, Barbara or Jess at (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S Fremont Ave Bldg A-1 Suite 1125 Unit 58 Alhambra, CA 91803.
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