Canadian priest gambles away funds meant for Mideast refugees

Father Amer Saka called the church bishop to confess his wrongdoings and admitted that funds have been lost last month

A Canadian priest is currently going under investigation for allegedly gambling away funds worth around a half-a-million-dollar meant for refugees who wanted to settle in Canada.

Father Amer Saka, a priest at the St Jospeh Chaldean Catholic Church Ontario, has reportedly wasted the money in gambling that was given to him by local families who were eager to support, and sponsor migrants from the Middle East.

The priest called the church bishop, perhaps out of regrets, to confess his wrongdoings last month and admitted that the funds generated have been lost.



"He called me on the phone and... said he lost all the money. I said, ‘How?’ He said, ‘Gambling,’" the bishop said, after which he checked the priest in an addiction centre and investigations are under way.

"We 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’s saying," Shaleta added.

Shaleta, the bishop, also regretted how the priest wronged eight families who had trusted him and given the amount for refugees.



"They trusted him. They did not give it as a gift. They were trusting the priest. They didn't ask for receipts," he said.

Amer Saka was in-charge of the funds by the Hamilton Diocese to sponsor 20 Iraqi refugees. It was part of the Canada’s government-led programme to provide safe haven to thousands of Syrian and Iraqi refugees that involved the combined efforts of Canadian state and private donors.

 

The article originally appeared on The Washington Post.