Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday accepted the resignation of Bishop Emanuel Shaleta, a Chaldean Catholic bishop arrested in San Diego last week on charges of embezzling Church funds.
The Vatican also announced March 10 that Leo has appointed Bishop Saad Sirop Hanna, a Chaldean Catholic bishop from Iraq, to oversee the Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle of San Diego as apostolic administrator following Shaleta’s resignation.
An attempt by EWTN News to contact Bishop Shaleta through the eparchy was not immediately successful.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said Shaleta was arrested on March 5 at San Diego International Airport as the prelate was “attempting to leave the country.”
The sheriff’s office said in a press release that the bishop was charged with multiple counts of embezzlement and money laundering as well as one count of “aggravated white collar crime enhancement.”
Records show Shaleta is being held on $125,000 bail on one of the embezzlement charges. All charges against the bishop are listed as felonies by the sheriff’s office.
In remarks at a Feb. 22 Mass, the bishop denied that he has ever misused Church money.
Shaleta has served as the San Diego Chaldean eparch since 2017. He was born in Iraq.
