The Vatican on Tuesday announced a major shake-up within its ranks. Bishop Emanuel Shaleta — who ran the Chaldean Eparchy of St. Peter’s Catholic Church in El Cajon — is out, and so is the cardinal who leads the Chaldean Branch of the Catholic Church worldwide.
Shaleta offered a letter of resignation in January, as an investigation into allegations of embezzlement and money laundering came to light. One day after his arraignment on 16 felony charges, the Vatican made the resignation public. The church also announced the departure of Cardinal Raphael Sako, who is accused of trying to rally support for Shaleta before the investigation was complete.
“Sako was at various points urging that he [Shaleta] be placed in a high-ranking position in Baghdad where the Chaldean Catholic church is headquartered,” said J.D. Flynn, editor-in-chief of The Pillar, which investigates and reports on issues within the Catholic Church.
According to Flynn, sources told The Pillar that Sako was dragging his feet when it came to appointing Shaleta’s replacement.
Flynn also told NBC 7 the forced resignations indicate that the Vatican, under Pope Leo, is trying to change the way the church deals with cases of clergy members accused of wrongdoing.
The arrest of a bishop has shocked his El Cajon Chaldean Church community. The district attorney has announced money laundering and embezzlement charges against bishop Emanuel Shaleta. NBC 7’s Jackie Crea has the details.
It was journalists with The Pillar who first reported that Shaleta was accused of taking thousands in cash payments from one of St. Peter’s rental properties and not reimbursing the church coffers.
“Bishop Shaleta says he distributed that money to the poor, but that’s an awful lot of money, and he didn’t get any receipts, and there are certainly questions about that,” Flynn said.
The criminal charges filed on March 5 provided more evidence of the bishop’s financial misdeeds.
There are accusations that some of the money was spent at a Tijuana brothel that Shaleta reportedly visited on several occasions. NBC 7 has seen photos of a man that looks like Shaleta crossing the border, but there is no evidence that he committed any crimes there.
A Chaldean bishop in San Diego stands accused of embezzling church funds and visiting brothels in Tijuana after an article published in The Pillar sparked an investigation. NBC’s Allison Ash has details.
A San Diego private investigator confirmed for The Pillar that he witnessed Shaleta parking his car in a lot reserved for customers of a well-known brothel known as the Hong Kong Gentleman’s Club. The investigator did not see Shaleta enter the club.
More information about the investigation will likely be revealed in late April at Shaleta’s preliminary hearing.
If convicted, Shaleta faces up to 15 years in prison.