CANADA
Hamilton Spectator
By Christopher Reynolds
Police have launched an investigation into a Chaldean Catholic priest from London, Ont., after church officials reported more than $500,000 slated for the Diocese of Hamilton refugee sponsorship program 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 said 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.”
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