Posted on 06/20/2011 2:52:39 PM PDT by Pyro7480
As the Regional Priest Servant of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), I issue the following statement on behalf of the Society.
On 16 March 2011, the Bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas, and the SOLT received a complaint against Fr. John Corapi, SOLT. As is normal procedure and due to the gravity of the accusation alleging conduct not in concert with the priestly state or his promises as a member of an society of apostolic of diocesan right, Fr. Corapi was suspended from active ministry (put on administrative leave) until such a time that the complaint could be fully investigated and due process given to Fr. Corapi. In the midst of the investigation, the SOLT received a letter from Fr. Corapi, dated June 3, 2011, indicating that, because of the physical, emotional and spiritual distress he has endured over the past few years, he could no longer continue to function as a priest or a member of the SOLT. Although the investigation was in progress, the SOLT had not arrived at any conclusion as to the credibility of the allegations under investigation.
At the onset, the Bishop of Corpus Christi advised the SOLT to not only proceed with the policies outlined in their own constitution, but also with the proper canonical procedures to determine the credibility of the allegations against Fr. Corapi. We reiterate that Fr. Corapi had not been determined guilty of any canonical or civil crimes. If the allegations had been found to be credible, the proper canonical due process would have been offered to Fr. Corapi, including his right to defense, to know his accuser and the complaint lodged, and a fair canonical trial with the right of recourse to the Holy See. On June 17, 2011, Fr. John Corapi issued a public statement indicating that he has chosen to cease functioning as a priest and a member of the SOLT.
The SOLT is deeply saddened that Fr. Corapi is suffering distress. The SOLT is further saddened by Fr. Corapi’s response to these allegations. The SOLT will do all within its power to assist Fr. Corapi if he desires to seek a dispensation from his rights and obligations as a priest and as a professed member of the SOLT. We request your prayers and the intercession of the Blessed Mother for the healing of Fr. Corapi and for any who have been negatively affected by Fr. Corapi’s decision to end his ministry as a priest and a member of the SOLT.
Fr Gerrard Sheehan, SOLT Regional Priest Servant
Catholic ping!
No, no, what was I thinking.........it must be a horrible, horrible conspiracy..... < /s>
I’m sick over all of this. And it keeps getting stranger & stranger.
I read earlier today that the accuser is trying to hawk Fr’s rosary to support her new online ministry, and what’s even more deceptive is that if one types .com instead of .us when seeking Corapi’s new website, it takes you to hers instead of his. Bizarre.
His audio statement from today pains me to listen to.
So, Fr Corapi leaves even before there's been a finding that the charges are credible complaining that he doesn't have recourse to the very things he would have recourse to if and when the charges were classified as credible? This is making no sense at all to me now.
If they find it's a credible accusation, a whole process kicks in which sounds like solid due process but for some reason Corapi, in spite of his own admission that he had plenty of legal advice, didn't know this? Very strange to me because he directly stated he wouldn't have those rights that this piece enumerates as being a part of the process if a charge is actually brought. Right?
Someone please explain for me why Fr Corapi was feeling shafted because in light of this it seems like he just didn't want the hassle of dealing with the situation.
Interesting. Here’s the link to the information on the .com address. They simply did a re-route with it to Online Catholic Network.
http://www.networksolutions.com/whois-search/theblacksheepdog.com
let me offer this analogy for all the ever dwindling defenders of this man. suppose someone accuses me of cheating on my wife. now i think my wife will believe this person and not give me a fair hearing. i know i didn’t do anything wrong, but my wife just will not listen to my side of the story, she will jump the gun. what can i do in this case? well, it’s clear, the only option i have is to divorce my wife. yes, because i can’t get a fair hearing, i must divorce her. oh, i also must give myself a goofy nickname, write a book and get a website!
Okay, I’m getting tired of this but here goes, again.
The problem is not necessarily with Father Corapi but rather with the USCCB and their progressive/liberal ALINSKY tactics in order to protect their agenda. I hear nothing about the PRO-ABORT-CATHOLICS in Congress [http://www.canon915.org/list_people.php?figure_ind=P] because they, too, are ‘progressive/liberal’ .... I see what’s happening to Father Corapi as “Rule 13” in Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. And it takes the focus off of the USCCB’s failures to uphold the Church’s Pro-Life teaching and their refusal to own up to their own guilt and complicity in failing to promote and uphold the Teachings of the Magisterium.
They’ve had THREE months to discern what’s going on. Father Corapi has been placed in the position of having to do something because he cannot be waiting around for years for a resolution while the USCCB dawdles over his situation. Putting him “in community” while they continue to pussyfoot around is not going to solve the issue. But rather, it’s a way to shut him up! His ‘sin’ is exposing bishopric sins!
The USCCB fails to take today’s Gospel to heart. They’re too busy allowing sin to run rampant in their diocese and across this nation.
PS this is not an indictment against every member of the USCCB. There are some truly godly men doing their best against the tide of those ‘progressive/liberals’ who would silence them.
God have mercy on The Catholic Church in America.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.
For as you judge, so will you be judged,
and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?
How can you say to your brother,
‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’
while the wooden beam is in your eye?
You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”
This whole thing is really just dreadful.
the process could drag on for years, during which Corapi would hang in suspense. It may boil down to a he-said, she-said matter, in which case there could be no real resolution in time for him to resume hois former role. IAC, as Father Neuhaus once pointed out, since Dallas, the bishops have been running scared and have basically told their priests—you are on your own if you get into trouble. A sad start of affairs, whether you be “liberal” or “orthodox.” What a mess. Vatican II was touted as a New Pentecost, but it has turned out to be the most useless council since the one of 1512. That one reformed nothing ; Vatican II tried to reform eveything. Like The meeting of the Estates general in 1789, the Council led to revolution and not, it seems, a fruitful one.
Thanks for the response. The fact that Corapi feels hung out to dry is probably a lot of it. From what little I know about his background it seems to me he would expect to have some loyalty from his superiors that he obviously doesn't feel is there.
how is the “black sheep” any different than jimmy swaggart or jim baker, men who became millionaires off the Gospel? who owns the rights to his book and the black sheep site, the Church or John? JC is number one in his life, it’s a shame that JC is John Corapi and not Jesus Christ.
Well, he is 60 years old, and he almost died a few years ago. I must say,however, that he put himself into a very dangerous situation. Being a “star” in the Church is to make yourself a target. Furthermore, there have always been in the Church women who are drawn to priests like flies to honey, and I don’t mean in a spiritual way only.
It has been reported that the investigation couldn’t proceed due to Fr. Corapi holding non-disclosure agreements from the witnesses, who cannot be interviewed.
The accuser also reportedly signed a non-disclosure agreement concerning anything which went on during her employment at Santa Cruz Media. Father Corapi is now suing the accuser for breach of contract. This sounds more and more like a mess of Father Corapi’s making.
Corapi never should have been ordained a priest, if his background is as depraved as he seems to delight in describing. He was rejected by several orders before this SOLT (not exactly the Dominicans) finally took him in desperation. Certainly, a man can have a past, sins, faults, and then convert. But there is a level of promiscuity and wildness that shows inherent bad judgment and a weak character. Corapi never was worthy of the priesthood he now carelessly abandons.
I know a couple and a priest who all know Corapi from years back. He was always in this to make money. All the insiders know that! He belongs to a religious order, yet he is not in community with them. He lives in his own luxury house. He is a multi-millionaire. His books and tapes and all this is a corporation. He is not a priest so much as a businessman using the priesthood as his vehicle.
He has a very cleverly cultivated a style like an motivational speaker, which now, no doubt with the help of advertising executives and image consultants, he has transformed into the “black sheep dog”! No man with a calling to the priesthood would make this act of defiance. His arrogance is very similar to Fr. Phleger, another “star” priest with his own unique following.
I give Corapi credit for one thing, he always preached the truth. And I believe it’s because he knows there’s a “market” for it among ill-educated Catholics starved for good doctrine. I never heard any talk of his above a sixth-grade level, but apparently there are thousands of people who benefit from that.
He is an embarrassment to the Faith and the priesthood and I’m glad he made a clean break and bailed out on his own, of his own free choosing, running with his tail between his legs, but head held high, apparently like so many previous incidents in his life.
It's clear that should the situation rise to the level of there being a credible allegation the very things he complains about being absent would be there. That the NDA is the hold up in the process means that he's using as his pretext to leave the priesthood the absence of things he could immediately have were he to waive the NDA. So, the NDA is more important to him than his vows. You're right, it's a mess of his own making at least in so far as his pretext for leaving the priesthood.
Now if there's no basis at all for the claims of the accuser, then why the rush to expect due process he should be sure he won't even need? It does look like the "all about me" aspect is way out of hand on his part, that's for sure.
Regards
Thanks for the information.
Regards
could not agree more, follow the money!!
Despite a weak and flawed character as explaining all this. There is the one possibility of bad health and only a few years to live which could explain all this. In the end, only time will tell.
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