The Vatican has accepted the resignation of a San Diego bishop who, it turns out, was not just tending to his flock but also helping himself to a rather substantial portion of the collection plate.
Pope Leo XIV granted the request of Bishop Emmanuel Shaleta to step down from his post leading the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of San Diego.
This was a move made somewhat easier by the fact that the good bishop was sitting in a jail cell when the news came through.
He had been arrested on the afternoon of March the fifth at San Diego International Airport, not for anything so dramatic as shouting or causing a public nuisance, but for the simple, quiet act of trying to leave the country with a quarter of a million dollars that didn’t belong to him.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said the arrest came after some folks from the bishop’s own church walked in with a story, some paperwork, and what the authorities deemed sufficient evidence to suggest the man entrusted with their spiritual guidance had been helping himself to their earthly donations.
They met him at the terminal as he was apparently hoping to find a warmer reception elsewhere.
Now, a quarter of a million dollars is a sight of money any way you look at it. It’s more than a lifetime of bake sales and bingo nights can account for. It’s the kind of sum that makes you wonder what a man in a line of work that prizes modesty and humility plans to do with it.
Perhaps he had a vision for a particularly ornate new set of vestments. Or maybe he just discovered the simple, worldly truth that cash is a handy thing to have when you’re planning a sudden, unannounced trip.
The Vatican, for its part, acted with the swiftness of a man closing the barn door. They accepted his resignation in a one-sentence announcement that didn’t get into the messy particulars of airport arrests or alleged thievery.
The statement from the sheriff’s office was a bit more detailed, explaining that a member of the bishop’s own church had come forward, likely feeling that their contributions were meant for the poor, not for the pastor’s personal travel fund.
So now the Eparchy of San Diego has an opening at the top, and the Vatican has one less bishop on its rolls.
Shaleta faced a judge Monday, entering an initial plea of “not guilty” on money laundering and embezzlement charges, while his attorney said the bishop denies the allegations against him.
And somewhere, locked up in a county jail, a man of the cloth has a lot of time to contemplate the Seventh Commandment, and the simple logistical problem of how you get a quarter-million dollars past airport security without raising an eyebrow.
It’s an old, old story, really. A man of faith who forgot that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And that you can’t take it with you, especially when they’re waiting for you at the gate.