Catholic Priest Gambling
Posted : admin On 4/13/2022Join us on Facebook: www.fb.com/occupythevatican
Catholic Priest Gambling Guide
Roman Catholic priest gets 3 years in federal prison for siphoning $650,000 from his parish to support his gambling habit. Association of Catholic Priests statement on public Masses for Christmas. Friday 4 th December 2020. The go-ahead for public Masses given by the government, after the last lockdown was lifted, creates particular difficulties for priests and Parish Pastoral Councils (PPCs), ›. Yes, priests can and do smoke but I, at least, have rarely seen them do so. Maybe many are only occasional smokers, as it is impractical in many circumstances to smoke while performing priestly duties.
Catholic priest caught gambling with donations meant for refugees.
Police have launched an investigation into a Chaldean Catholic priest from London, Ont., after church officials reported more than $500,000 slated for refugee sponsorship was lost to gambling.
Father Amer Saka, a priest working at the St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Church in London, is under investigation after telling his bishop, Emanuel Shaleta, that funds intended to help new Canadians had instead vanished in vice, Shaleta said.
“He called me on the phone and . . . said he lost all the money. I said, ‘How?’ He said, ‘Gambling,’” Shaleta told the Star on Saturday, referring to a conversation he said took place Feb. 23.
“We believe that Father Saka has a serious gambling problem and that these funds may have been used for that purpose,” he said. “Since there is an investigation going on, we cannot confirm what he’s saying.”
Shaleta, who sits at the head of Canada’s first and only Chaldean eparchy, or jurisdiction, said he suspended the priest immediately after learning of the missing money.
The bishop drove to London the next day to take Saka for several days of voluntary treatment at Southdown Institute, a non-profit facility north of Toronto for priests battling problems ranging from addiction to depression to sexually abusive behaviour.
London police confirmed they received a complaint Feb. 24 of alleged financial misappropriation related to the local parish.
“An investigation is underway,” said spokesperson Const. Sandasha Bough on March 15. The financial crimes probe was launched more than a week after the initial report, said police, who needed bank records before going further.
No charges have been laid. The allegations have not been proven in court.
The Star reached out to Saka through calls and letters to his church in London. A St. Joseph church representative said it is treating the situation “very seriously” but that comment would be “inappropriate” given an ongoing internal investigation.
The Chaldean Catholic Church is based in Baghdad and represents Catholics from Iraq and neighbouring countries, but ultimately falls under the watch of the Holy See in the Vatican.
Monsignor Murray Kroetsch, chancellor of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton, which runs the sponsorship program, said Saka was the leader of a constituent group raising funds to sponsor refugees from Iraq.
It’s one of about 30 parishes and parties to partner with the Hamilton diocese in the sponsorship agreement.
Kroetsch said the Hamilton diocese filed up to 20 applications sponsored by Saka for refugees from Iraq. About 10 of them have arrived in southern Ontario. With all now facing a potential void of financial backing, the Hamilton diocese has taken over responsibility for their support, Kroetsch said.
“We want to assure the refugees that our part of our agreement is looked after and that money will be provided to help them feel secure and help them find their footing in the country,” he said.
Sponsorships cost about $6,000 a person, or about $20,000 to $25,000 for a family of four, said Shaleta.
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“It is wrong for a priest to go and gamble. It’s against the rules,” said Shaleta.
The bishop said he informed parishioners — mostly northern Iraqi immigrants, many from communities now overrun by Daesh who are trying to bring family members to Canada — soon after the priest told Shaleta about the missing funds.
Source: http://on.thestar.com/1Sb3l81
IN what could be the biggest church fraud case ever, a priest has pleaded guilty to embezzling $1.21m of donations to fund a very unholy lifestyle.
Florida Catholic priest John Skehan pleaded guilty to taking the money placed every Sunday into the collection plates to use instead on buying luxury homes, gambling trips to Las Vegas and buying rare coins, Sydney's The Daily Telegraph reports.
His pleas came in a last minute twist as he and fellow priest Francis Guinan of the St Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach were about to go on trial. He now faces up to 31 years behind bars.
The priests allegedly used the money to open offshore accounts to fund their lavish, and not-so-saintly, lifestyles.
As parishioners tossed their dollars into the offering plate every Sunday morning, they had no idea their contributions were headed directly into the pockets of the priests who hid the cash in the church ceiling tiles.
According to the authorities, Guinan, 66, had an 'intimate' relationship with a former church book-keeper and much of the stolen cash was used to support his mistress and take her on luxury holidays.
Skehan's lawyer Scott Richardson said he and the state had reached an 'amicable resolution and that 'Father Skehan accepted responsibility for his actions by virtue of his guilty plea'.
Due to the statute of limitations the priests can only be charged with any thefts that occurred after 2001 though authorities speculate that close to $12.2m (Australian) may have been stolen over the last 20 years.
Guinan's lawyer, Richard Barlow, insists his client did nothing wrong and that the money Guinan is accused of stealing was used to make cash payments to church employees.
'Just because both priests worked at the same church and one pleads guilty it doesn't mean my guy is guilty,' Barlow said.
Guinan's trial has now been adjourned until February 18.
Catholic Priest Gambling Stories
Skehan was arrested at Palm Beach International Airport in September 2006 after returning from Ireland.
He and Guinan had fled the country after the church began an investigation into 'alleged improprieties' at St Vincent's as well as an audit of the church books.
His defence will be allowed to call more than 20 witnesses to speak at Skehan's sentencing hearing scheduled for March 20.
Catholic Priest Gambling Scandal
Though the guidelines require a minimum of 22 months and up to 31 years the judge will have sole discretion to impose the length of the sentence.
Originally published asPriests 'blow $1.2m in Vegas'