{"id":96943,"date":"2016-03-30T08:50:50","date_gmt":"2016-03-30T12:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aleteia.org\/?post_type=post&p=96943"},"modified":"2016-03-30T08:50:50","modified_gmt":"2016-03-30T12:50:50","slug":"priest-accused-of-gambling-away-380000-meant-for-refugees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2016\/03\/priest-accused-of-gambling-away-380000-meant-for-refugees\/","title":{"rendered":"Priest Accused of Gambling Away $380,000 Meant for Refugees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Details:<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n

According to reports in the Canadian media<\/a>, an Ontario-based Catholic priest\u00a0is under investigation on suspicion of\u00a0gambling away\u00a0funds that had been set aside to provide for refugees newly settled in Canada.<\/p>\n

Father Amer Saka, a\u00a0priest at the\u00a0St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Church in London, Ontario, is suspected\u00a0to have lost\u00a0roughly half a million Canadian dollars (equivalent to\u00a0$380,000 U.S.) that\u00a0had\u00a0been entrusted to\u00a0him by local families keen on sponsoring new arrivals from the Middle East.<\/p>\n

Saka phoned the church\u2019s bishop,\u00a0Emanuel Shaleta, last month to confess that the funds were lost.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe called me on the phone and . . . said he lost all the money. I said, \u2018How?\u2019 He said, \u2018Gambling,\u2019\u201d Shaleta told<\/a> the Toronto Star this weekend. He has since checked the priest into an addiction center. Investigators are examining the\u00a0situation, though no formal charges have been filed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that Father Saka has a serious gambling problem and that these funds may have been used for that purpose. Since there is an investigation going on, we cannot confirm what he\u2019s saying,\u201d Shaleta added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read more.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Details: According to reports in the Canadian media, an Ontario-based Catholic priest\u00a0is under investigation on suspicion of\u00a0gambling away\u00a0funds that had been set aside to provide for refugees newly settled in Canada. Father Amer Saka, a\u00a0priest at the\u00a0St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Church in London, Ontario, is suspected\u00a0to have lost\u00a0roughly half a million Canadian dollars (equivalent to\u00a0$380,000 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nPriest Accused of Gambling Away $380,000 Meant for Refugees<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Details: According to reports in the Canadian media, an Ontario-based Catholic priest\u00a0is under investigation on suspicion of\u00a0gambling away\u00a0funds that had\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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