Update on Fr. John Corapi

[Anhelyna]

Sad , very very sad.

I've never heard him speak before [ remember I'm in the UK and I don't get EWTN ]

What concerns me having heard him on the linked video is his voice , very theatrical, and the fact that he used , as we would put it , the ' Royal ' We . It was not that I will do this now - it was WE will do this now .

Sorry , this is all sounding very cultish . I do hope he will apply for laicisation .

 

[Romans 13:3]

Not that anyone will particularly care, but here are my thoughts on the mess:

1. I concur the sheep dog reference is lifted from Grossman with the black a reference to clerical garb.

2. Yes, he had a money-making company but I personally think that was ingenious because by paying taxes he could speak on political-related issues without the IRS looking to pull his not-for-profit- status. What happened to the profits I do not know.

3. I am not sure what the appropriate response would be from him. Certainly, he has an obligation to follow the bishop. But he also should expose a flawed system if he truly believes he is not getting a fair shake. Seems to me he is trying to do both. He is not asking to say mass publicly therefor following the bishop but he is now trying to put his side of the story out to the public.

4. What bothers me most is the apparent lack of transparency on how this or similar investigations are done. And Corapi is right, you can't prove a negative. This will likely never see a courtroom unless he is able to sue for defamation. He has been asked the proverbial question 'Have you stopped beating your wife?'

 

[St_Barnabus]

I always assumed so, but I could be wrong. It's not his voice per se that put mem off, but the vibrato and pomp that he spoke with on his radio program. Something that's missing from the speach that is linked in this thread. When people think they have to orate in a peculiar manner in order to hold my attention, I assume that what they're saying isn't all that noteworthy.

That is also true of posters who "shout" when they compose their message; it is full of bolded and/or red characters, and/or large print or all caps. It is a definite turn-off.

(Not saying you do this, but I know we've all seen it customarily in a few members who think by much shouting, they will be heard. Sorry for thread drift, but this has been a problem lately that is extremely annoying.)

 

[JoabAnias]

Not that anyone will particularly care, but here are my thoughts on the mess:

1. I concur the sheep dog reference is lifted from Grossman with the black a reference to clerical garb.

2. Yes, he had a money-making company but I personally think that was ingenious because by paying taxes he could speak on political-related issues without the IRS looking to pull his not-for-profit- status. What happened to the profits I do not know.

3. I am not sure what the appropriate response would be from him. Certainly, he has an obligation to follow the bishop. But he also should expose a flawed system if he truly believes he is not getting a fair shake. Seems to me he is trying to do both. He is not asking to say mass publicly therefor following the bishop but he is now trying to put his side of the story out to the public.

4. What bothers me most is the apparent lack of transparency on how this or similar investigations are done. And Corapi is right, you can't prove a negative. This will likely never see a courtroom unless he is able to sue for defamation. He has been asked the proverbial question 'Have you stopped beating your wife?'

I have always sensed there are probably other reasons to squech him and pull him out of active duty.

The Bishop doesn't really need to explain himself.

1 Samuel 15:22
Is the pleasure of the Lord in holocausts and sacrifices or in obedience to the voice of the Lord? Obedience is better than sacrifice, submissiveness better than the fat of rams.

 

[Romans 13:3]

As for the bishop explaining, no of course not, the bishop does not have to explain anything in a technical sense. Operationally, I think he has some need to demonstrate transparency. The whole priest abuse scandal could have been simplified and maybe even ameliorated with greater transparency.

The various media will make answers if there are none provided. In the matters in which I had personal involvement, the scandal was made worse in the long run by the efforts to prevent scandal. Better to have the sore see sun the be kept in the dark and picked at.

 

[thereselittleflower]

I think, given the things he has said, and this grandiose claim of protecting the sheep of the whole world, his complaints against the Bishop and the Church must be held suspect. . . something is wrong with his perceptions of the world.

 

[Servus Mariae]

4. What bothers me most is the apparent lack of transparency on how this or similar investigations are done.

The bishops do not owe us transparency in how they deal with their priests. The bishop is the one in charge of his diocese. It is his job to safeguard your soul. Priests are simply assistants to him (which is why they need faculties for valid confessions and marriages, and licit celebrations of the Mass).

 

[Searching_for_Christ]

I'm not a Catholic, and sorry if you find me out of line, but why can't there be transparency? Wasn't it a lack of transparency that helped with the cover up's of all those sexual abuse issues that the Church is now dealing with? A bishop is just as fallible as the Priest.

Something that really took me off guard while I read this thread was the hate..the accusations. Accusations that he is only in it for the money (can't really prove that by watching a youtube vid and a bunch of opinionated blogs can you?) that he has lost sight of how the world works? I even saw an accusation that he therefor must be guilty of the alleged crime! It was just all a bunch of "lets belittle Corapi with a bunch of speculations, and personal dislikes, and then at the end of our rant...I will make a prayer smillie to show that I actually care for him" meh....maybe I'm reading too much into the way he is being treated on here...but it just kinda threw me off.

 

[BAFRIEND]

I'm not a Catholic, and sorry if you find me out of line, but why can't there be transparency? Wasn't it a lack of transparency that helped with the cover up's of all those sexual abuse issues that the Church is now dealing with? A bishop is just as fallible as the Priest.

Something that really took me off guard while I read this thread was the hate..the accusations. Accusations that he is only in it for the money (can't really prove that by watching a youtube vid and a bunch of opinionated blogs can you?) that he has lost sight of how the world works? I even saw an accusation that he therefor must be guilty of the alleged crime! It was just all a bunch of "lets belittle Corapi with a bunch of speculations, and personal dislikes, and then at the end of our rant...I will make a prayer smillie to show that I actually care for him" meh....maybe I'm reading too much into the way he is being treated on here...but it just kinda threw me off.

oh, the horror...

 

[Servus Mariae]

I'm not a Catholic, and sorry if you find me out of line, but why can't there be transparency? Wasn't it a lack of transparency that helped with the cover up's of all those sexual abuse issues that the Church is now dealing with?

I am sorry but they simply cannot be compared.

A bishop is free to be transparent with why he doesn't want so-and-so a priest ministering in his diocese. He simply has no obligation to be transparent. If he simply has a personality clash with one of his priests and doesn't want him in his diocese he is perfectly within his authority to release him from his charge.

A bishop is just as fallible as the Priest.

Excepting the bishop of Rome of course. But it is nothing to do with infallibility or fallibility.

 

[Romans 13:3]

I am sorry but they simply cannot be compared.

A bishop is free to be transparent with why he doesn't want so-and-so a priest ministering in his diocese. He simply has no obligation to be transparent. If he simply has a personality clash with one of his priests and doesn't want him in his diocese he is perfectly within his authority to release him from his charge.



Excepting the bishop of Rome of course. But it is nothing to do with infallibility or fallibility.

It absolutely is a fair comparison. Allegations were kept quite and not properly investigated. This appears to be total swing of the pendulum, everyone knowing about the allegations, with the question remaining as to the quality of the investigation. I don't think anyone is questioning the authority of this or any bishop. I think what may be in question is rationale for the exercising of the authority. No, the bishop does not have to explain himself; but it would/could make things make a whole lot more sense.

If Corapi is a scoundrel then I want to know.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Well, I'm not a big fan of Fr Corapi, but I wanted to given him the benefit of the doubt that he was innocent until proven guilty.

That however, doesn't seem to be something we'll ever know.

The only thing I have to wonder is, he knew they had the goods on him and so he chose not to fight and gave the priesthood.

Anyway, I pray he returns. We are a Church of sinners who are forgiven after all.


Jim

 

[isshinwhat]

About Fr. John Corapi with observations about our times | Fr. Z's Blog – What Does The Prayer Really Say?

Another good perspective from Father Z in part:

So, I don’t have much to say about Fr. Corapi. I do have a few things to say about the circumstances surrounding this sad announcement.

From the email I am receiving and a few blogs I have read reacting to Fr. Corapi’s video message, it strikes me that a lot of people are doing neither themselves nor Fr. Corapi any good. Charity requires us to consider the good of others. I can’t see how the way some people are talking about Fr. Corapi does anyone any good.

We are in difficult times right now concerning ecclesiastical relationships. The Church has sustained horrible wounds because of her own churchmen and, during this time of healing, there are bound to be painful moments. When you receive a blow upon a bruise, the pain can be great. I suggest that we avoid poking the bruises are much as we can.

Given what I have been seeing and experiencing, I believe the verse many priests pray every night during Compline in the older form of the Office (Tuesday in the Liturgy of the Hours) is being realized in a particularly intense way right now:

“Be sober and vigilant: because your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is roaming around seeking whom he might devour. Strong in faith, resist him knowing that the same affliction befalls your brethren who are in the world. ” 1 Peter 5:8-9.

This is certainly the case in my life right now and I think it is also going on in the life of many priests and bishops who are on the more conservative side of things. The attack is on.

This is one reason why I have been earnestly asking the support of your prayers.

The enemy hates priests and bishops. Let me say that again. The enemy hates priests and bishops. When priests and bishops start making inroads, they will be attacked with intensity.

But priests and bishops remain men and remain sinners. We need the support of prayers especially regarding the primary goal of saving our souls. We must, for the love of God, help each other.

I will keep Fr. Corapi on my prayer list, and will remember him in a special way, hoping that through the help of the Holy Spirit, who bends the rigid and heals the broken and consoles those who are in pain, he will have some peace whether he is able to return to active ministry or not, whether he wants to or not. He is a priest forever and he is my brother in that indelible mark received from Christ the High priest. And because he is a priest forever, the devil will not relent in attacking him until he dies. Nor will the devil relent in attacking anyone who has authority over him.

It is what we signed up for, but sometimes it can be very hard.

Please remember, please, that all priests are human beings and subject to the afflictions of the world the flesh and the devil. If you look at them in some other way, you do them and yourselves a disservice

 

[thereselittleflower]

It absolutely is a fair comparison. Allegations were kept quite and not properly investigated. This appears to be total swing of the pendulum, everyone knowing about the allegations, with the question remaining as to the quality of the investigation. I don't think anyone is questioning the authority of this or any bishop. I think what may be in question is rationale for the exercising of the authority. No, the bishop does not have to explain himself; but it would/could make things make a whole lot more sense.

If Corapi is a scoundrel then I want to know.

So just because someone makes an accusastion against the Church, we are to blindly believe it and join their rallying cry?

Who else has spoken out against the quality of the investigation that was involved?

All I see is Mr Corapi (it saddens me so much to not say Father) railing agaisnt the Church while in the same breath making a grandiose statement that he is going to protect all the sheep, not just in the Catholic Church, but in the whole, entire world.

NO ONE makes such a claim unless something is wrong with their perceptions of reality.


If he thinks this, then everything he is saying against the Church's investigation and actions is SUSPECT.

 

[thereselittleflower]

About Fr. John Corapi with observations about our times | Fr. Z's Blog – What Does The Prayer Really Say?

Another good perspective from Father Z in part:

"“Be sober and vigilant: because your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is roaming around seeking whom he might devour. Strong in faith, resist him knowing that the same affliction befalls your brethren who are in the world. ” 1 Peter 5:8-9."
​

That includes us using a discerning eye regarding what Mr Corapi has put into the public view, that we don't get carried away by his excesses and errors, through blind acceptance of his accusastions and feelings of sympathy for him.

He has chosen to attack the Church and make himself appear the martyr.


Only level headed discussion can help clear the fog he has errected around himself and the Church in his public statements.


He is in desperate need of our prayers.

 

[Michie]

Like many of you, I was surprised and confused by Fr. Corapi’s recent announcement. And I have nothing more to add on Corapi’s score beyond what the popular Catholic bloggers have already laid out.

But one aspect that I know a bit more about and that troubles me is his comments about the bishop of Corpus Christi, Michael Mulvey. Firstly, even though Bishop Mulvey was only recently appointed to Corpus, I assume that Corapi is speaking of him and not the former bishop when he made his comments.

I met Bishop Mulvey (when he was Father, and then Monsignor) during my ten years in Austin. I heard Mass from him many times and talked with him as well. He always struck me as a priest with a very gentle spirit. Not all priests have that gift, but he did. I understood that he was involved in the ecclesial movement Focolare, which seemed to fit his personality well.

Continued-
Gentle Bishop Mulvey of Corpus Christi...

To Father Corapi: Bupkes. To John Corapi: Concern and Sympathy...

The man is deeply distraught — that much is obvious. I'll also venture the guess that he's either over-medicated or — perhaps worse — under-medicated. He strikes too many discordant notes, sends too many mixed signals. Corapi is a very polished and very experienced public speaker; in his right mind, he'd know the importance of consi.

What can an ex-priest do?

With the Corapi news, it's a question many are asking. A few years ago, Jimmy Akin posted a good and clear-headed summary that, as far as I know, still holds: 1) He can't celebrate any of the sacraments except for hearing deathbed confessions. It is especially noted that he can't give homilies.

Fr. Corapi Has Lost It...

Fr. John Corapi has published a statement—also available in video form—in which he has announced that he is leaving active ministry as a priest. He's right. He is. And he has. Unless something extraordinarily improbable occurs, he will never again function as a Catholic priest. And it's his fault.

Corapi, the morning after — ...

You don’t have to look far to find a lot of wide-ranging reaction to the Big News around the blogosphere.


First up, Max Lindenman, who says something a few people have wondered about in e-mails to me:

The man is deeply distraught — that much is obvious. I’ll also venture the guess that he’s either over-medicated or — perhaps worse — under-medicated. He strikes too many discordant notes, sends too many mixed signals. Corapi is a very polished and very experienced public speaker; in his right mind, he’d know the importance of consistency. Perhaps he was under some sort of pressure to put out this statement in a hurry. But even if he couldn’t recognize the bizarreness of his message, you’d think somebody close to him would step in and say, “Say, John, don’t you think we ought to tweak that?”

Makes me wonder whether he’s getting bad advice, or more likely, is getting good advice, but disregarding it.
​

 

[BAFRIEND]

From the email I am receiving and a few blogs I have read reacting to Fr. Corapi’s video message, it strikes me that a lot of people are doing neither themselves nor Fr. Corapi any good. Charity requires us to consider the good of others. I can’t see how the way some people are talking about Fr. Corapi does anyone any good.

is it our fault corapi decided to become a public mouthpiece ?

let's consider good of others ?

does anyone here really know the accuser, or the legitimacey pf what is being accused ?

corapi says the accuser is a liar and posted things publically about the character of the accuser

now, he is fair game

 

[JoabAnias]

Is it too late for Fr. Corapi?

 

[thereselittleflower]

Is it too late for Fr. Corapi?

To continue to be a priest?

In the public eye, I would think yes, he burned his bridges, has shown signs of serious psychological instability . . . but in some non-public capacity? Hard to say.

Corapi has a charismatic personality . . and can command a following .. . given his behavior, I would think the Church would not want him to be in a position in which that trait could be put to use much.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

I'm praying for Fr Corapi. If you know his background, he was once a drug addict and alcoholic.

I pray that he stays strong in faith and fortitude.

Jim