Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignations of Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako, the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, and Bishop Emanuel Hana Shaleta, the Chaldean Catholic bishop of San Diego, on March 10.
Bishop Shaleta was arrested on March 5 at San Diego International Airport while attempting to leave the country and pleaded not guilty on March 9 to embezzlement and money laundering charges. The Pillar reported last month that the prelate was under Vatican investigation for alleged financial and sexual misconduct and that he had submitted his resignation.
Cardinal Sako, 76, has been the Eastern Catholic church’s Patriarch since 2013. The prelate said that he “freely decided to submit my resignation to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV” so that “I could devote myself quietly to prayer, writing, and simple service.” According to The Pillar, Cardinal Sako had considered transferring Bishop Shaleta to a post in Iraq.
Pope Leo also appointed Iraqi Bishop Saad Sirop, a critic of Cardinal Sako’s governance, as apostolic administrator of the San Diego eparchy. In 2006, then-Father Sirop was abducted by Islamist terrorists; during his 28-day captivity, he was tortured and refused to renounce his faith.