A California bishop with the Syriac Catholic Church is accused of stealing a $200,000 donation meant for a church remodeling project and is now facing a lawsuit. Hani Toma, a member of Our Mother of Perpetual Help Syriac Catholic Church, filed a civil suit against Yousif Abdulmasih, also known as Bishop Marnaba Yousif Habash. According to the complaint, filed earlier this month, the bishop approached Toma seeking donations to fund the church's remodel.
Toma gave his donation directly to Abdulmasih in June. He later learned from a priest at the church that the remodeling project already had enough funds to be completed. Toma is seeking to recover the $200,000 plus damages, according to San Diego-based KGTV. The lawsuit claims the bishop has since fled California for Michigan.
Authorities told the outlet that the bishop faces no criminal charges, and the El Cajon Police Department is not involved in the litigation. The Syriac Catholic Church is one of more than 20 Eastern Catholic Churches — bodies that remain under papal authority but retain their own canon law, leadership and worship practices. Syriac is a dialect of Aramaic, an ancient Near East language spoken by Jesus Christ.
It remains the liturgical language for congregations in the denomination. The lawsuit against Abdulmasih comes months after another San Diego-based bishop, from the Chaldean Catholic Church, resigned amid embezzlement and money laundering charges. Earlier this year, Pope Leo XIV accepted the resignation of Bishop Emanuel Shaleta of the Eparchy of Saint Peter the Apostle of San Diego. Shaleta faces 17 counts of money laundering and embezzlement; he denies any wrongdoing.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement in March confirming the resignation, noting it had been privately accepted in February by Cardinal Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the U.S.