By Michael Gryboski, Editor Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of a Chaldean Catholic bishop in the United States who was recently charged with multiple counts of embezzlement and money laundering, allegations he has denied.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement Tuesday noting that the pontiff accepted the resignation of Bishop Emanuel Shaleta of the Eparchy of Saint Peter the Apostle of San Diego, who originally hails from Iraq. 

An eparchy is the Eastern Catholic equivalent of a diocese, a church regional body. Bishops who oversee eparchies are sometimes referred to as eparchs.

The resignation had been accepted in private last month by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the U.S., according to the USCCB. Additionally, Pope Leo XIV has appointed the Most Rev. Saad Sirop Hanna, the titular bishop of Hirta, as the apostolic administrator for the eparchy.

News of the accepted resignation came the day after Shaleta was in a California court for an arraignment, where he pleaded not guilty to 17 felony charges, reports The Associated Press.

In August 2025, a representative from St. Peter Chaldean Church of El Cajon contacted police regarding allegations that Shaleta had embezzled church funds.

Following an investigation by the Sheriff’s Fraud Unit, authorities arrested Shaleta last week at the San Diego International Airport as the bishop was trying to leave the country.

According to a statement from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, Shaleta was charged with eight counts of embezzlement, eight counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated white collar crime enhancement.

“Shaleta was transported and booked at the San Diego Central Jail for the aforementioned charges,” the statement reads. “He is currently being held on $125,000 bail and a hold under Penal Code section 1275.1 was approved by the court.”

According to his online biography, Shaleta was born in Iraq in 1956 and was ordained in 1984 by Pope John Paul II. He earned a doctorate in biblical theology from Urbaniana University in 1987.

Shaleta served churches in Michigan and California for several years until he was appointed bishop of the Eparchy of Mar Addai of Toronto of the Chaldeans, Canada, in 2015. He was appointed bishop of the San Diego-based eparchy in 2017.

Shaleta has maintained his innocence. He said at a recent mass that he never "abused any penny of the church money," according to AP, and that he had “done my best to preserve and manage the donations of the church properly.”

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/pope-accepts-resignation-of-us-bishop-charged-with-embezzlement.html