Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of a bishop from the Chaldean Catholic community in the United States after he was charged with embezzlement of church funds.

The Vatican gave no reason for the resignation of Bishop Emanuel Hana Shaleta from the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of St Peter the Apostle in California, which it announced in a statement on Tuesday.

But the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said Shaleta had been arrested on March 5 at the airport while trying to leave the country.

He was arrested for eight counts of embezzlement, eight counts of money laundering and one count of “aggravated white collar crime enhancement”.

He had been under investigation since August, when a member of the church got in touch with allegations of embezzlement.

Shaleta was held in the San Diego Central Jail on a $125,000 bail, the sheriff’s office said.

According to US media, the bishop is accused of embezzling $270,000 (232,000 euros), and pleaded not guilty Monday to the charges against him.

The Chaldean Church is an Eastern Catholic Church historically rooted in Iraq and Iran, with its base in Baghdad.

Shaleta was born in Iraq in 1956, according to his church’s website, and has been in the United States since 1987.

The Chaldean diaspora in the United States is one of its largest.

The Vatican also said Tuesday that the pope had accepted the resignation of the patriarch of the Chaldean Church, Louis-Raphael Sako.

The cardinal had discussed retiring two years ago, when he was 75, with former Pope Francis but was encouraged to remain, according to Vatican News.

The Vatican made no link between the two cases. (AFP)

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