Thus the Church's position is that the opening of casino gambling in Singapore will focus on the social cost that the community has to pay.

In his August 31 statement, the Catholic Church's head, Archbishop Nicholas Chia also expressed agreement with the position of other Christian churches.

He said, "We have read the Statement on the building of a Casino in Singapore by the National Council of Churches of Singapore and are in full accord with their stand that Casino gambling would undermine virtues, introduce more social ills and is not in our national interest."

The Archbishop requests the government "to commission an objective analysis of the social and economic aspects of such a casino, especially what are the potential social impacts both positive and negative, with particular reference to problem gamblers and pathological gamblers in other countries."

In calling the government not to proceed with the introduction of a casino, the Archbishop says, "We believe that there are already more than sufficient facilities for gambling and that there is neither a need nor a demand for a casino.

"The reasons we had for prohibiting casino gambling remain unchanged. Unless an extreme makeover has taken place in our human nature, casino gambling will be detrimental to Singapore and its citizens."

The 4-page statement concludes saying "we believe that we can be a people with a vision that promotes the holistic and integral development of the country and its people.

"Beyond economic development we should strive to uphold the values of hard work, honesty and a genuine concern for the total well being of each and every person especially the poor, visitors and tourists within our boundaries.

"Just as we continue strongly to discourage drug abuse, smoking and excessive drinking for the good of the country and people, we should also discourage casino gambling by educating one and all to the dangers of gambling addiction.

"We should not legalise casino gambling and indirectly contribute towards building a culture of gambling among our people." the statement said.

The Archbishop asks whether the social consequences of gambling outweigh the purported benefits to society.

Experts and studies in the United States, Canada and Australia are of the opinion that in the long run the community and the government pay a very high price.

The statement also asks whether the promotion of gambling is a legitimate role for the government?

Casino gambling provides a product that extracts high revenue sum for their owners, operators and the government.

"It is also a product that has been shown to cause considerable social and financial hardship to individuals, families and communities. Besides there is the danger of the exploitation of the consumer and his weakness," the Archbishop said.

The Church espressed its fear on the risk of enslavement to gambling.

"Research shows the incidence of problem and pathological gambling may increase with the availability of legalised gambling opportunities. And a casino presents these opportunities everyday. Even those who begin as social gamblers can be induced by the casino set up and constant incentives to become at-risk gamblers."

Arguing that the ensuing social problems could outweigh the purported economic benefits the statement says, "Every addicted gambler affects another 30-40 people be they wives, husbands, children, co-workers, friends or associates.

"Research in the US shows the gambling industry brings large and unseen cost to the community. It fosters vice, boost gambling addiction, increase bankruptcies, organized crime, broken families, increase the cost of keeping people in prison, support of families of compulsive gamblers, cost in health care.

"Gambling attacks and feeds on the quality of life. It diminishes our standards and values. Casino gambling would undermine the work ethic and values of hard work. Poor people have been shown to spend a disproportionate amount of money on gambling in the hope of striking the pot of gold.

"Many of the citizens and tourists who go to the casino are not well heeled, most of them are ordinary wage earners. It would be the poor who can ill afford it who will contribute most to the revenue of the casino and the tax department. In these get rich quick schemes, the odds are so horribly stacked against the player.

Noting the people of Singapore want a more gracious society with good services and more consultation of their views, the Archbishop asks, "How would a casino and gambling be part of this vision?

"A gracious society can in no way condone the evil influences of Casino gambling on individuals and the community. If the government intends the casino for tourists of the region and restricts the admission of locals in order to lessen social cost, how would that demote us as a caring or gracious society?"

The statement raises some questions:

+Can we not do better than resort to Casinos? It is not the best long term strategy for sound economic development.

+How much is greed the motive?

+Are we making money the ultimate value?

+When you promote gambling as an industry what kind of world do you believe in?

+Mention has been made of casino gambling on cruise ships to no-where and in Batam (Indonesia) as a recent reason for joining in the casino competition, does it mean that if we cannot beat them, we join them?

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