Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of a San Diego clergyman accused of embezzling funds from the church.
Leo accepted the move from Bishop Emanuel Shaleta to step down from his position at Saint Peter’s Chaldean in East County, according to the Vatican's bulletin Tuesday. Bishop Saad Hanna Sirop has been named interim replacement.
The resignation was accepted in February, according to NBC San Diego, but the announcement was not made until Tuesday.
Shaleta pleaded not guilty to more than a dozen felony charges Monday in connection with $272,000 in missing funds from the church. Authorities allege that Shaleta pocketed $30,000 in monthly cash payments from a tenant of the church’s social hall over months.
Prosecutor Joel Madero told the court Monday that Shaleta allegedly concealed his embezzlement by moving money from a church account that held funds to assist the needy into the church's operations bank account.
Shaleta allegedly “provided completely unreasonable tales of where that money was going,” when a financial adviser flagged the discrepancies, Madero said. The bishop could not offer proof of who he gave the money to or when he provided it, the prosecutor alleged.
Shaleta was arrested last week at the San Diego airport, where he was trying to fly to Germany, authorities said. He is charged with eight counts of embezzlement, eight counts of money laundering, and an "aggravated white collar crime" enhancement.
Court records for Shaleta were not immediately available, and NBC News was unable to find contact information for an attorney. He was issued a $125,000 bail and is due in court next month.
Shaleta was not available at the phone number listed for him in the public record, and he did not immediately respond to emails from NBC News requesting comment.
The Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle, the diocese that oversees Saint Peter’s Chaldean, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shaleta maintained his innocence during his Monday court appearance, which was packed with his supporters. Parishioner Farouk Gewarges told NBC, San Diego, that he believes the sheriff's investigators have made a mistake and that the charges are "not correct. "
"They should come and talk to me," Gewarges said.
