Robert F. Sanchez | Archbishop, 77

Archbishop Robert F. Sanchez, 77, who as the nation's first Hispanic archbishop fought discrimination within the Roman Catholic Church but who resigned in 1993 while facing accusations that he had had sex with several women when they were teenagers, died Jan. 20 in Albuquerque, N.M.

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe, which he led for nearly two decades, said he died in a nursing home for Alzheimer's patients.

Mr. Sanchez, appointed by Pope Paul VI in 1974, was a descendant of the first Spanish settlers in New Mexico, the archdiocese said.

During his tenure, he apologized to local American Indians for grievances reaching to the days of colonization - the first official in his archdiocese to do so. He also created an Office for Native American Ministry and ordained the first Native American bishop in the United States, Bishop Donald E. Pelotte, who died in 2010.

In a report to the World Synod of Bishops in Rome in 1980, Mr. Sanchez called for renewed efforts to eliminate "all forms of racism" in the church.

Mr. Sanchez resigned amid a rising tide of complaints about sexual abuse by priests around the country. He made the announcement in March 1993, two days before a 60 Minutes report on CBS was to name three women who said he had sex with them when they were teenagers, in the 1970s and early '80s. He released a statement expressing regret for his actions, without specifying what they were. - N.Y. Times News Service