Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of Bishop Emanuel Shaleta, who leads a Chaldean Catholic community in the San Diego area, amid criminal charges that he embezzled $270,000 from his parish.

Shaleta, 69, pleaded not guilty to 17 felony charges, including money laundering, during a court hearing. He was arrested Thursday at San Diego International Airport while attempting to leave the country, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office. The charges stem from allegations that he embezzled funds from St. Peter Chaldean Catholic Cathedral in El Cajon, east of San Diego.

Prosecutor Joel Madero said the allegations center on monthly rental payments of more than $30,000 from a tenant of the church's social hall that allegedly went missing. Madero cited discrepancies in church accounts and said Shaleta "provided completely unreasonable tales of where that money was going." The judge set bail at $125,000.

Shaleta's attorney, Sharon Appelbaum, said she planned to demonstrate that the allegations are false. During a recent Mass, Shaleta addressed the accusations, stating he has never "abused any penny of the church money" and has worked to "preserve and manage the donations of the church properly."

The Vatican announced Tuesday that Leo had accepted Shaleta's resignation under canon law for Eastern Rite churches. According to the Vatican embassy in Washington, the pope actually accepted the resignation when Shaleta presented it in February, but the announcement was delayed to avoid interfering with the police investigation. Leo named Bishop Saad Hanna Sirop as temporary administrator.

Shaleta was ordained as a Chaldean Catholic priest in Detroit in 1984 and was appointed to lead the San Diego branch in 2017. The Chaldean Catholic Church represents over one million Aramaic-speaking Christians, primarily from Iraq, who maintain distinct Eastern traditions while adhering to Roman Catholic doctrine.