Leo accepts resignations of Chaldean patriarch and bishop amid corruption scandal
The pope has accepted the resignations of Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako and Bishop Emanuel Shaleta.
Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignations of both the patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church and a bishop arrested last week on charges of financial crimes.
The Vatican announced March 10 that the pope had accepted the resignations of Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako and Bishop Emanuel Shaleta one day after the bishop entered an initial plea of “not guilty” on money laundering and embezzlement charges in a California court following his arrest Friday.
As recently as last month, Sako attempted to arrange a transfer for the embattled bishop to a high-ranking position within the Chaldean Church’s curia, despite allegations of criminal financial and personal misconduct by the bishop.
The Pillar has previously reported that Shaleta offered his resignation as leader of the Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle in January, following a Vatican ordered investigation into allegations of financial crimes by the bishop. The eparchy encompasses all Chaldean Catholics in the western half of the United States.
Cardinal Sako, 76, has led the Chaldean Church since 2013. Members of the eparchy made criminal complaints against Shaleta last August, with several Chaldeans expressing their concerns about the bishop’s personal misconduct to the Vatican’ Dicastery for Eastern Churches in the second half of 2025.
A Vatican-ordered investigation into allegations of substantial embezzlement concluded last year. After the bishop submitted a letter of resignation from his diocesan post in late January, Cardinal Sako consulted with Chaldean bishops about his hope to see the bishop transferred to an administrative post in Baghdad, as a high-ranking official of the Chaldean patriarchate, The Pillar has previously reported.
Sako had acknowledged to The Pillar in February that he raised the prospect of a transfer to Vatican officials, but that he had proposed the idea before the results of the Vatican-ordered investigation into Shaleta were “clear.”
However, The Pillar reported that the dicastery received a report on the case in late 2025, alongside several episcopal complaints about Shaleta — well before Sako polled Chaldean bishops about a transfer last month.
It is not clear whether the papal office had been aware of Sako’s recent move on that front until it was reported publicly.
In a statement on the patriarchal website Tuesday, Sako said he “freely decided to submit my resignation to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV” on Monday “so that I could devote myself quietly to prayer, writing, and simple service.”
“To dispel any misinterpretation,” the cardinal said, “I want to emphasize that no one asked me to do so; I submitted my resignation of my own volition.”
Thanking the clerics and staff of the patriarchate, Sako added that he wished to “sincerely apologize to anyone I may have offended.”
According to a statement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Shaleta’s resignation was accepted by Pope Leo “in February” and made public March 10.
Shaleta was arrested Thursday on several counts of embezzlement and money laundering. The bishop was arrested Thursday at the San Diego airport as he attempted to leave the United States, after The Pillar reported last week that the bishop was expected to travel to Rome to offer explanations for the allegations against him.
In a pastoral letter addressing the situation released Sunday, Cardinal Sako said he “stand[s] with justice, and for this reason [he is] in communication with the Holy See, hoping that the proper measures will soon be taken for the good of the diocese.”
Shaleta is accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from his cathedral, attempting to reimburse missing funds with checks signed by him from an Eparchy charity account.
He is also alleged to have made frequent trips to a Tijuana brothel linked to the human trafficking industry, and known to have maintained a longstanding and close relationship to a woman with whom he shared a bank account and unfettered access to each others’ homes.
The bishop has not offered an explanation for the reimbursement discrepancies in his diocesan accounts. Shaleta has said he is the victim of a media campaign and of Chaldeans in his diocese who opposed his leadership.
“You are the children, you have every right to know what the father of this household is going through,” said Kalabat, while praising as “necessary” media outlets “who are coming out and saying the truth as it is, without putting judgments.”
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In February, following The Pillar’s initial reporting on Shaleta’s alleged activities, Sako published on his website a “message of solidarity and support from the bishops of the Chaldean synod” addressing several brewing issues in the Chaldean Church, including “the controversy surrounding the Diocese of St. Peter in San Diego, United States, before the truth has been revealed and justice achieved.”
On that front, the Chaldean bishops “urge all to calm tensions and refrain from spreading false information on social media,” according to Sako.
In response, Bishop Saad Sirop, pushed back in a lengthy Facebook post, saying the patriarch’s statement’s “tone of absolute solidarity creates an impression of alignment, and may be understood as issuing premature judgments or favoring a particular narrative before investigations are completed and the truth emerges.”
In 2024, Saad Sirop was also one of five Chaldean bishops who did not attend a synod of the Church sui iuris, called by Sako as patriarch.
The Pillar reported at the time that the bishops communicated to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Eastern Catholic Churches that they would not be attending, reportedly saying that they believed the meeting would not be productive because Sako would not be receptive to what they had to say about the state of the patriarchate, while also raising concern that Sako had been living outside of his diocese for nine months, a violation of the canonical residency requirement for diocesan bishops.
Sako in response demanded that the Holy See consider canonical penalties against the bishops, including excommunication.
"Sources within the Chaldean Church told The Pillar that the Holy See had been unaware of Sako’s recent move on that front until it was reported publicly."
Hi Pope Leo! 👋
But seriously, Pillar Team, you all should be proud of your reporting on this one. I would guess it isn't always easy to be so steeped in misconduct stories; but for what it's worth, one of the reasons I trust the Pillar's coverage is that I know you all *do* get into the weeds, actually read the reports, etc etc. rather than just publishing a pile of "so-and-so said" stories. Thanks for doing that on behalf of the Church!
The resignation of both an allegedly criminal bishop AND the cardinal who was moving to see that bishop reassigned, AND replacing the bishop with an administrator who was critical of the cardinal’s statements...wow. Checkmate.