Scandal-plagued Bishop Ziemann dead at 68

October 23, 2009

Bishop G. Patrick Ziemann, who resigned as head of the Santa Rosa, California diocese in 1999 after revelations that he had a longstanding homosexual affair with one of his priests, has died of cancer at the age of 68. Bishop Ziemann's tenure in Santa Rosa was marred by financial mismanagement, coupled with charges that he had pressured Father Jorge Salas into sexual acts, threatening to reveal that the priest had stolen from his parish. The bishop apologized to the faithful after his retirement, escaped criminal prosecution, and lived out his last days in a monastic community in Arizona.

 

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Further information:

• G. Patrick Ziemann dies at 68; embattled former Roman Catholic bishop of Santa Rosa diocese (Los Angeles Times)