VATICAN CITY, March 11, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - 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. 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 Vatican also said Tuesday that the pope had accepted the resignation of the patriarch of the Chaldean Church, Louis-Raphael Sako.

Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha March 11, 2026 16:35 UTC