A poker club that opened legally in the Philippines was forced to close down after officials from the local Catholic Church complained.

According to a Philippine newspaper, a poker club located in a shopping center in San Juan, the Philippines, had its operating permit revoked by the local city council after officials of the St. John the Baptist Church condemned the club.

The Vicariate or head of the church “voiced its disapproval of the operation” and “called for a total ban of all forms of gambling in the city,” the newspaper reported.

Earlier, San Juan Mayor Joseph V. Ejercito and the San Juan City Council had approved the permit for the poker club, but after church officials complained, they reversed their decision, the newspaper reported.

“We have to withdraw the resolution issued earlier because of the controversial issues concerning the Catholic Church,” City Council member Domingo Sese, a supporter of the club, told the newspaper.

The shutdown was unfortunate, Sese said, because the poker club provides “additional revenues and job opportunities for constituents” and “supports special projects to benefit the youth and senior citizens.”

In the final tally, however, Sese said he, the rest of City Council and the Mayor “are sensitive to the voice of the people and to the clamor of the Catholic Church.”

The pressure exerted by the Catholic Church in the Philippines in shutting down a club for poker is confoundingly ironic to many, as numerous Catholic churches worldwide hold casino nights, bingo nights and other gambling-related events to raise funds.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)