Is it Moral for Priest to play the lottery?

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JD27076

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Just a simple question out of curiosity. My Priest doesn’t play the lottery…so I think. But just a question.
 
Depends on his motives and his circumstances. If he plays with the intention of getting filthy rich, no. If he plays for fun and can afford it and doesn’t go overboard (one ticket a week or so), doesn’t seem to be a problem.
 
If he does not use the weekend’s collection, he should be fine!
 
Inquiringperson said:
Ah come on! I want to use some of the weekend’s collection for the lottery when I become a priest!😉
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If you become a Priest, it will be by God’s will, not yours. Priests, Catholic Clergy have higher calling than earthly greed, games! Anyone can bet small amounts just For Fun; no more. I won $200 I desperatelly Needed in the VA Lottery years ago, and Quit, when I used $100 to “Try Again”, losing that. Never again above a Minor fun bet. 🤓:whistle:
 
AntalKalnoky said:
If you become a Priest, it will be by God’s will, not yours. Priests, Catholic Clergy have higher calling than earthly greed, games! Anyone can bet small amounts just For Fun; no more. I won $200 I desperatelly Needed in the VA Lottery years ago, and Quit, when I used $100 to “Try Again”, losing that. Never again above a Minor fun bet. 🤓:whistle:
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I was joking.
 
AntalKalnoky said:
👍👍 Nothing wrong with small legal fun. FEW Priests have time or inclination for our distractions!
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When I was a kid and we still had assistants they used to have priests over to the rectory from other parishes sometimes. Maybe they were studying the Summa. Maybe they were relaxing, over a few beers and playing poker. Or both.

Nothing wrong with that. Priests are people.

The better question; what if a priest hit the big prize? He obviously can’t keep it all for himself, though he’d be entitled to give whatever he wanted to relatives, favorite charities, &c.
Should he give it to his diocese? Wellll . . . Catholic Charities in various has places has been, um, questionable (like giving free needles to junkies) or being horribly mismanaged.
I’d go for Peter’s Pence but that’s just me.
 
I have an uncle who’s a Catholic priest who likes to go gambling a few times a year, when he’s out on trips and such. Oddly enough, he wins pretty often, so my family likes to joke about God being on his side. 😃
 
JD27076 said:
Just a simple question out of curiosity. My Priest doesn’t play the lottery…so I think. But just a question.
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I do noto think he is better than we are and if he enjoys lottery, this is fine; however, if he goes every night and playhs for hours and hours, than he is abusing it and it would be a problem of addiction

JESUS I TRUST IN YOU

jr
 
I love to gamble (and I hate to lose so that keeps me under control), and IF I ever hit it 'big" I would most likely give most or all of it away to charitable causes. I would imagine most priests would be similary inclined…

It is worth noting though, priests (and other clergy) today have to provide for their own retirement funds, so that would also assure them of a decent retirement.
 
JD27076 said:
Just a simple question out of curiosity. My Priest doesn’t play the lottery…so I think. But just a question.
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can you think of a reason why it might be wrong? it would be wrong only in the same way it might be wrong for anyone else–he is using money that belongs to someone else or that is meant for other purposes (that would include violating a vow of poverty, something not all priests have made), he is doing it for an evil purpose etc. By itself the act is neutral. It is a gamble, just as most investments are gambles, but morally neutral.
 
JD27076 said:
Just a simple question out of curiosity. My Priest doesn’t play the lottery…so I think. But just a question.
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What’s wrong with it?

Being Rich isn’t a sin.

It’s what you do with riches that can lead to sin.

Remember King Solomon the wises rich man in the Old Testament?
Far wiser likely than Mr. Bill Gates.

Does a man own his riches?

Or do Riches own a man? Its a choice.

You can be materialistically rich and also poor in spirit.
 
I know of more than one Catholic parish school that gets part of its support from parish-sponsored Bingo games. Seems to me that what’s good for the goose…
 
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