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Alexander Salazar

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His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Alejandro Salazar
Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Los Angeles
SeeArchdiocese of Los Angeles
AppointedSeptember 7, 2004
InstalledNovember 4, 2004
RetiredDecember 19, 2018
Orders
OrdinationJune 16, 1984
by Timothy Manning
ConsecrationNovember 4, 2004
by Roger Mahony, Gabino Zavala, and Gustavo García-Siller
Personal details
Born (1949-11-28) November 28, 1949 (age 75)
San José, Costa Rica
NationalityAmerican
EducationEast Los Angeles College
California State University, Los Angeles
St. John's Seminary
MottoDo what Jesus tells you
Styles of
Alejandro Salazar
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleBishop

Alejandro Salazar (born November 28, 1949) is a Costa Rican-born American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Salazar served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 2004 to 2018.

Salazar resigned as auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles in 2018 after a sexual misconduct charge against him was deemed credible by the archdiocese and the Vatican. In August 2023, Salazar was criminally convicted on two counts of PC288(a) following a no contest plea.[1]

Biography

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Early life

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Alejandro Salazar was born on November 28, 1949, in San José, Costa Rica, but moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1953.[2] He attended Daniel Murphy High School in Los Angeles, then entered East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, California.

Salazar then attended California State University, Los Angeles and Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in bilingual studies in 1978.[3] From 1968 to 1979, Salazar taught at St. Albert the Great School in Compton, California.[2] In 1977, Salazar entered St. John's Seminary in Camarillo, California.

Priesthood

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Salazar was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles by Cardinal Timothy Manning on June 16, 1984.[4] After his ordination, Salazar served as associate pastor at the following parishes in Southern California:

In 1995, Salazar was appointed pastor of St. Teresa of Avila Parish in Silverlake, California, assigned there until 2004.[2] He also served as dean of Deanery 14, and as a member of the Council of Priests, the College of Consultors, the Clergy Pension Board, and the Archdiocesan Personnel Board.[3] In 2003, Salazar was named vice-chancellor of the archdiocese and honorary chaplain of his holiness.

Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles

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On September 7, 2004, Pope John Paul II appointed Salazar as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and titular bishop of Nesqually. He was consecrated at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on November 4, 2004, by Cardinal Roger Mahony, with Bishops Gabino Zavala and Gustavo Garcia-Siller serving as co-consecrators.[4] Salazar selected as his episcopal motto: "Do What Jesus Tells You" (John 2:5).[5]

According to a 2018 statement by Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, a person accused Salazar of sexual misconduct during the 1990s when Salazar was a parish priest in Pasadena. Salazar denied any wrongdoing. In 2002, the claimant reported their allegations to the Pasadena Police Department; after an investigation, the district attorney declined to press criminal charges against Salazar.[6][7][8]

When Mahony learned about the accusations against Salazar in 2005, he submitted them to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome while allowing Salazar to still perform ministry. The Congregation then "conducted an investigation and imposed certain precautionary measures on the ministry of Bishop Salazar" in 2005. Mahony also requested another review by the Pasadena district attorney, who again declined to indict Salazar.[6]

After Gomez became archbishop in 2011, he submitted the Salazar case to the archdiocesan Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board. It recommended suspending Salazar from any ministerial functions.[6][7] Gomez then forwarded these findings and his own recommendations on Salazar to Pope Francis.[9]

Pope Francis accepted Salazar's letter of resignation as auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles on December 19, 2018. It was submitted before the mandatory age 75 limit.[7]

On August 21, 2023, Salazar pled no contest to two felony counts of PC288(a)-F Lewd or Lascivious Acts With Child Under 14 Years.[1] Per the plea agreement, Salazar received a 6 year prison sentence (suspended), 5 years of formal probation, required registration as a sex offender, and other sentencing requirements.[1]

On August 6, 2024, nearly one year after Salazar's conviction, an investigative report aired on Fox 11 Los Angeles reporting that despite Bishop Salazar's status as a convicted felon and registered sex offender who appears on the Megan's Law website, Salazar has continued to live in the rectory at Mary Magdalen Catholic Church, located at 1241 S. Corning St. in Los Angeles, CA.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "The People of the State of California vs. SALAZAR, ALEXANDER. (February 2, 2021). Case No. GA109354. https://www.lacourt.org/criminalcasesummary/ui/
  2. ^ a b c "Archdiocesan Official Named Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. September 7, 2004.
  3. ^ a b c "Bishop Alejandro Salazar". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Archived from the original on October 15, 2006.
  4. ^ a b "Bishop Alexander Salazar [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  5. ^ Sullivan, Paul (November 12, 2004). "Bishop Salazar's Coat of Arms mirrors his heritage". The Tidings. Archived from the original on November 22, 2008.
  6. ^ a b c "Pope accepts resignation of Los Angeles auxiliary accused of abuse". National Catholic Reporter. Catholic News Service. December 19, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Gomez, José H. (December 19, 2018). "Full text: Letter regarding Auxiliary Bishop Salazar's retirement". Angelus News. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  8. ^ Povoledo, Elisabetta (December 19, 2018). "Pope Ousts Los Angeles Bishop After Allegation of Misconduct with a Minor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  9. ^ CNA. "L.A. Auxiliary Bishop Salazar resigns after misconduct allegation found credible". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  10. ^ Silva, Gina (August 6, 2024). "Survivors outraged as convicted sex-offender Bishop found living at a church in Los Angeles". FOX 11. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
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