Reports Say Canadian Priest Admits to Gambling Away Half a Million Dollars Meant for Refugees

Saka was in charge of raising funds to sponsor incoming Iraqi refugees—costing roughly $6,000 a person, and about $20-25,000 a family.

St. Joseph Chaldean Church. London, Ontario in Canada. Google Maps

A priest from the St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Church in London, Ontario, is under investigation after telling his bishop he lost more than $500,000, intended to aid incoming refugees, to gambling, reported the Toronto Star.

The Star says Reverend Amer Saka called Bishop Emanuel Shaleta and confessed to the shocking act on Feb. 23.

“He called me on the phone and ... said he lost all the money. I said. ‘How?’ He said, ‘Gambling,’” Shaleta told the star on March 26.

We believe that Father Saka has a serious gambling problem and that these funds may have been used for that purpose.

— Emanuel Shaleta, Bishop