Rome - An Italian priest has gambled away more than 500,000
euros (620,000 dollars) of his parish money, media reports said
Thursday, backed up by the local Catholic Church.
Father Flavio Gobbo, 48, negotiated a plea bargain for a suspended
two-year jail term for embezzlement, the Corriere della Sera
newspaper said.
As part of the deal, he has promised to gradually return the money
and signed up for therapy against gambling addiction, with the
support of his church superiors.
"In this long and strenous journey, Father Flavio has mainly found
support in prayers, but also in the will to return soon" to active
ministry, the Diocese of Treviso said in a statement.
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Father Gobbo left his post as parish priest in Spinea, near Venice,
in October 2016. At the time, the local church said he was suffering
from exhaustion.