Friday, August 24, 2012

Catholic church wants to help problem gamblers

Long associated with bingo, the Catholic Church does not declare "You shalt not gamble," but the Cleveland diocese wants to assist those who indulge to excess.

Spurred to action by the recent opening of the Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, a diocesan committee is seeking to teach clergy, deacons, lay ministers and parishioners how to identify and assist problem gamblers. 

The campaign began when a small group of priests met Monday at a Jesuit retreat house in Parma.

Sister Rita Mary Harwood, the diocese's director of parish life ministry, was unfamiliar with gambling and decided she needed to know her subject to serve as a committee member. 

So she took $20 and traveled to Presque Isle Downs and Casino near Erie, Pa., shortly before the Horseshoe began operation in May.

Within 15 minutes, the novice had hit for $84 on the slot machines and walked away a winner. 

But things often don't go that well.

Jennifer Clegg, who supervises the gambling-addiction program at Recovery Resources in Cleveland, told the priests that, nationwide, only 4 percent of people are considered to be problem gamblers and only 1.5 percent reach the pathological stage. 

Still, that adds up to tens of thousands of Ohioans whose finances, relationships and lives are severely damaged.

According to the church's catechism, gambling is a sin when it impairs the ability of gamblers to provide for themselves and others, including the poor, and leads to spiritual "enslavement."

The Rev. Joseph Koopman, who teaches moral theology at St. Mary Seminary, said priests hearing confessions should suggest professional help if they sense someone has a serious problem. But he said clergy can help penitents "clarify" whether they are addicts or merely social gamblers. 

"Are you pulling from your need? Are you endangering your family? Are you lying?" he told the group at the retreat house. "These are all simple questions we can ask in the confessional." 

The Rev. Mark Latcovich, rector of the seminary and chairman of its pastoral theology department, said priests should remind those who are wrestling with guilt and alienation that no one is perfect and that God forgives them even if they don't forgive themselves. 

"God still loves us," he said. "Jesus didn't abandon the sinner."

Clegg asked the priests what first comes to mind at the mention of gambling. "Bingo," one immediately replied.

Some churches have eliminated bingo and other forms of gambling, but others still rely on gaming revenue to run parishes and schools, diocesan Controller Gerald Arnold said in an interview. He said pastors and members have to come up with other ways to raise money if they want to eliminate games of chance.

Harwood said Gamblers Anonymous needs meeting sites in Northeast Ohio. She encouraged the priests to host the support group and Gam-Anon, which is for people affected by others' gambling, at their parishes. 

Clergy from other denominations have expressed interest in the Catholic diocese's effort to fight problem gambling, Harwood said. 

Clegg said she is working with the state to develop a statewide "faith-based" campaign.