A senior California bishop has allegedly been visiting a brothel, embezzling church funds and maintaining a relationship with a member of staff, according to a report shared by The Pillar.
Chaldean Catholic bishop Emmanuel Shaleta has offered his resignation following the Vatican-ordered report into his behaviour, which was conducted without his knowledge.
A private investigation revealed a series of frequent visits to the Hong Kong brothel in Tijuana. The brothel offers a “shuttle” service to transport patrons across the Mexican border.
Over a dozen visits to the “exotic” gentlemen’s club are said to have taken place in the span of a month, with the bishop’s car parked in a space reserved for patrons.
The brothel has been described as a hotspot for human trafficking by human rights journalists.
The entire investigation began after parish leaders noticed that eight months of rent for the parish hall had been paid privately to Shaleta, with him then “reimbursing” the diocese. A total of $427,345 (£316,000) in cash was “appropriated” by Shaleta.
Shaleta accepted a further $30,000 (£22,100) in cash from parishioners, allegedly reimbursing the parish via cheque. He alleged that any missing funds were due to charity donations.
The same private investigation which noted his visits to the brothel’s park-and-ride found that Shaleta also holds a joint bank account with an anonymous woman, who previously worked with him in another diocese.
He was reported to have made multiple visits to the woman’s house, which he was able to let himself into, and had been seen taking her children to the park and tossing them in the air.
“This activity is much like what a parent would do,” noted the report.
On 22nd February, the bishop denied the financial allegations before his congregation. “I have never in my priestly life or episcopal life abused any of the Church money,” he said. “On the contrary, I have done my best to preserve and manage the donations of the Church properly.
“One donor from the community gave me money to give to the poor and to the needy. He told me, ‘I trust you, [Bishop], and I will not ask for any receipts - give this money to the poor that you know.’”
He continued by asserting that a “mean and vicious media campaign funded by very rich people” had been set against the Chaldean Church.
“I ask that during this holy Lenten season, [you] pray for those people, and enlighten their souls and minds, so that negative, evil people will not control the Church,” he concluded.