Catholic’s Use of Gambling Scandalous

One Bishop of the Catholic Church is saying that he has a real problem with the way the church has been raising funds. Bishop Luc Bouchard of St. Paul, Canada, says that he finds it “scandalous” and the churches should be ashamed of themselves for using gambling to raise money. He has written a letter to those organizations in his parish telling them that he expects them to cease and desist with all gambling.

He sent a pastoral letter to the Catholic parishes, schools and organizations in his diocese telling them they had three years to stop using gambling to produce revenues. He also wants his parishioners to contact their Legislative Assembly to tell them that legalized gambling is doing nothing more than exploiting a minority that it already vulnerable to the ways of gambling.

He wants the province to set up public reviews of gambling so that the they can prove that the benefit from them far outweighs the problems that they cause. He also wants the amount and quality of gambling counseling services available to be increased so that those with a problem can seek help. He also wants all slot machines to be taken away, except for those in licensed casinos, so that they can be regulated and kept away from the young.

He said that he wrote the letter only after he had prayed on it and felt that it was way too big of an issue to ignore. He urged his parishioners to take a look at their own ways of gambling, in that he said they are setting a bad example for their children, who will then grow up to be gamblers as well.



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