EWTN has an interesting take on Corapi abandoning his vows.
“Fr. Corapi Has Lost It
But at this point it doesnt really matter which one was at fault or whether both were, because Fr. Corapi has taken it upon himself to end the matter by publicly abandoning his priesthood.
If his statement is any guide, this was not forced upon him. This was something he freely chose.
In fact, he may have chosen it some time ago, since his statement says that his autobiography, titled The Black SheepDog, will be published soon. If he began working on this project while he has been on hiatus then he may have chosen to leave the priesthoodor been preparing to voluntarily leave it as a contingency planfor some time.
The name of the book is also worthy of attention: The Black SheepDog. This is a portmanteau of the black sheep and sheep dog.
Black sheep is obviously a common English idiom for a member of a group (typically a family) who either has fallen from grace or who is regarded by members of the group as having fallen from grace. That fits Fr. Corapis status given the sexual misconduct allegations against him.
Whats startling is that he would identify with this label and make it his own. Its embracing an on the run identity that signals separation from and disobedience to the ecclesiastical authorities.
After all, not every person accused of sexual misconduct would embrace such a label. Many would say, Im innocent! Im a white sheep, and I look forward to vindicating myself against the charges that have been falsely lodged against me!
So the embrace of the black sheep label is itself disturbing . . . and unusual . . . a symbol of a rebel or renegade mindset.
Then theres the sheep dog part. And this is really disturbing. Even moreso than the former.
The job of a sheep dog, of course, is to herd sheepto keep them from straying from the fold, to make them go where the shepherd wants, and keep them safe from danger.
Those are obviously pastoral functionsin the proper sense. A pastor (Latin, shepherd) employs sheep dogs to help him protect and guide the sheep and maintain the integrity of the flock.
By embracing the image of a sheep dog, Fr. Corapi thus announces his intentiondespite his public abandonment of the priesthoodto continue in some form of pastoral ministry. It may not be priestlyhe may not be celebrating the sacramentsbut he still sees himself as involved in pastoral work.
But consider the snarling tone in which he writes about his relationship with bishops. Most significantly, consider this statement:
Please dont bother the bishop or complain because it will do no good and it wastes valuable time and energy, both his and yours.
It is hard to read this as anything but a statement that Fr. Corapi plans to ignore ecclesiastical supervision of any kind and continue his pastoral, sheep dog ministry with respect to the sheep of Christs flock, even if Christs duly-appointed shepherds do not want him trying to manage their flocks.
The picture painted by his statement is thus of a sheep dog out of controlone who has turned on the shepherds of the flock and decided that he, not they, knows what is best for them and is willing to defy the shepherds to their faces.
And then theres the weird aspect of the name.
The Black SheepDog?
Really?
Whatever name he may choose for himself, Fr. Corapi has forever ruined any chances he had of functioning as a Catholic priest.”
http://www.ncregister.com/fr.-corapi-has-lost-it.html
“EWTN has an interesting take on Corapi abandoning his vows.”
Nice loaded language to put the onus on Father Corapi. It was the Church that told him he could not act in the capacity of priest.
Your characterization of source speaks for itself EWTN did not give this take, but Jimmy Akin, who writes for the Catholic newspaper has this take.
“Whatever name he may choose for himself, Fr. Corapi has forever ruined any chances he had of functioning as a Catholic priest. “
I think the Catholic Church and his Bishop have done that quite well. Many lay evangelists do great works and I’m sure Corapi will be among that number. So Akin’s jealousy won’t be going away any time soon.