Since no crimes are involved, there will not be a court case with evidence presented unless the civil case goes to trial. It seems unlikely that Fr. Corapi could win such a case if evidence of the allegations are presented in court. And what a soap opera if they are!
This sad situation brings more scandal to our beloved Church. Please pray for Fr. Corapi, for his religious superiors, and for all those who will be hurt by this information. It sounds like the Black Sheep Dog really is a black sheep. Pray for him.
SOLT PRESS RELEASE
Father John A. Corapi submitted his resignation from the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) early in June. SOLT is a society of apostolic life of diocesan right with its regional office in Robstown, Texas.
While SOLT does not typically comment publicly on personnel matters, it recognizes that Father John Corapi, through his ministry, has inspired thousands of faithful Catholics, many of whom continue to express their support of him. SOLT also recognizes that Father Corapi is now misleading these individuals through his false statements and characterizations. It is for these Catholics that SOLT, by means of this announcement, seeks to set the record straight.
A woman, well known to Father John Corapi, mailed SOLT a signed letter detailing allegations of Father Corapi’s sexual activity with adult women, abuse of alcohol and drugs, improper sacramental practices, violation of his promise of poverty and other wrongdoing.
After receiving the allegation, SOLT formed a three-person fact-finding team to ensure that it handled this matter in accordance with canonical norms. The team included a priest-canonist, a psychiatrist and a lawyer. Two were members of religious orders, and one was a lay Catholic. Two were men, and one was a woman. All three have national reputations and substantial experience in ecclesiastical processes related to priest disciplinary issues.
As the society was engaging this team, Father Corapi filed a civil lawsuit against his principal accuser. He contended that she had defamed him and breached her contract. The contract, according to [Father] Corapi’s lawsuit, contained a provision binding the woman to silence about him. He offered the woman $100,000 to enter this agreement.
SOLT’s fact-finding team subsequently learned that Father Corapi may have negotiated contracts with other key witnesses that precluded them from speaking with SOLT’s fact-finding team. Many of these witnesses likely had key information about the accusations being investigated and declined to answer questions and provide documents.
When the fact-finding team asked Father Corapi to dismiss the lawsuit, to forbear from foreclosing his mortgage, and to release her and other individuals from their contractual obligations to remain silent about him, he refused to do so and, through his canonical advocate, stated: “It is not possible for Father Corapi to answer the commission’s questions at this time.”
SOLT’s fact-finding team has acquired information from Father Corapi’s emails, various witnesses and public sources that, together, state that, during his years of public ministry:
— He did have sexual relations and years of cohabitation (in California and Montana) with a woman known to him, when the relationship began, as a prostitute.
— He repeatedly abused alcohol and drugs.
— He has recently engaged in “sexting” activity with one or more women in Montana.
— He holds legal title to over $1 million in real estate, numerous luxury vehicles, motorcycles, an ATV, a boat dock, and several motor boats, which is a serious violation of his promise of poverty as a perpetually professed member of the society.
SOLT has contemporaneously, with the issuance of this press release, directed Father John Corapi, under obedience, to return home to the society’s regional office and take up residence there. It has also ordered him, again under obedience, to dismiss the lawsuit he has filed against his accuser.
SOLT’s prior direction to Father John Corapi not to engage in any preaching or teaching, the celebration of the sacraments or other public ministry continues. Catholics should understand that SOLT does not consider Father John Corapi as fit for ministry.
Does anyone have any idea what went wrong? Did his fame go to his head? Was he like this from the beginning?
ReplyDeleteI am genuinely sorry to hear this distressing news.
May God have mercy on us all, and there but for the grace of God goes any one of us.
Veronica
I guess he is our Jimmy Swagart. All are in need of God's mercy.
ReplyDeleteThe timing of this is very troubling. These accusations are put out there while the accuser is unavailable for comment for an extended time period.
ReplyDeleteThen the question arises, at least in my mind, that if this is actually the case and all quite evident as the release implies then what was Fr. Corapi's state of mind in launching Black SheepDog. Could he be deluded into thinking that this would not come out or is this just more rumor and innuendo wrapped in a press release? Hard to tell!
I'm inclined to at least wait to see what is going on because frankly this doesn't make much sense. Let me explain:
1) If Corapi is guilty of all the release claims than going public with the Black Sheepdog blog and the book is the act of someone delusional, on the other hand
2) If the SOLT releases all this information about Corapi and it is valid then how long have they known such things and how complicit are they in facilitating a sham?
3) If they facilitated a sham and let Fr. Corapi get away with all they alledge, then what kind of order are they because the release seems to point to a long history of problems.
4) Is it possible that this is just a smear or even that the release isn't real but disinformation?
Of course I don't know what is going on. That's what always makes gossip so much fun. It sounds like the big loser in this is, as always, the Church. If Corapi is innocent then his order is slimy and if he's guilty then he's delusional and his order is slimy. The whole thing stinks!!
Wow! This is very, very sad! I thought of him as a modern day St. Augustine. He desperately needs our prayers.
ReplyDeleteI am utterly sickened. At the moment I don't know what to think.
ReplyDeletewhy did it take so long to figure this out?
ReplyDeleteWhen I watched him on EWTN (here in the Philippines we get EWTN) his demeanor made me turn him off. My sense was that he was a manipulator not a pious preacher.
I worry that someone will use this to smear EWTN and get them off the air for preaching the gospel to the world...
Like Ray, I too look a bit askance on this press release. Corapi initiated the civil suit on the advise of the founder of SOLT and Bishop Gracida - the latter being confirm by the bishop on his own blog. Also, why do these women remain anonymous? They aren't children to the best of my knowledge. I too think it strange that this release was timed just before the SOLT meeting. I just don't think this release constitutes conclusive proof of anything.
ReplyDeleteAll are in need of God's mercy indeed. As to what went wrong, who knows?
ReplyDeleteFrom the Christian standpoint, we know how to safeguard ourselves from falling into the trap of the devil:
If you are a priest, it's probably a good idea to not live alone.
If you are a religious, it is probably a good idea to live with your religious community, or at least with people who are in a religious community.
Temper your exposure to the outside world. People who are infatuated with you will seek to unknowing corrupt you.
Temper your use of technology ( I certainly know the internet world needs to be baptized, but some priests do not need that temptation)
Do not think friends or the opposite sex will not be tempted or led astray in their friendship with you.
When you have money, it will seek ways to overcome you.
If you seek celebrity status, it is probably your vanity that will undo you.
Lastly, seriously priests, why are you dying your hair, wearing tupees and spending time trimming your facial hair? It is one thing to look neat, it is another thing to spend time dying your hair and trimming your facial hair into a goatee or a mustache or donning a wig to look presentable to God?
Either your shave it off or you wear a beard. And if you are bald, be bald.
Philip
Wait a minute, I've had a chance to think about some this. How can SOLT say these things are true for certain? And if they are true then something is horribly wrong with SOLT becuase this was way too big for no-one in authority to miss. They seem to be angry that he chose to sue. I'd like to know why. And again, if this all true then we should redouble our efforts to pray for Father and all priests. Something went horribly wrong.
ReplyDeleteBishop Gracida would agree with you, Dymphna. He takes SOLT to task for their handling of the situation.
ReplyDeletehttp://abyssum.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/my-final-comment-hopefully-on-the-case-of-father-john-corapi/
I'm with Dymphna and Ray - something seems off. They just announced they were doing a preliminary investigation and suddenly they are finished?
ReplyDeleteAccording to SOLT he's been living with some woman for years and using drugs? And they didn't know about this?
I've never said one thing about his innocence or guilt. I don't consider that my business. My only comments have been concerning the "professional" Catholics horrendous attack on him. This announcement (IMO) in no way mitigates their behavior. It has has done nothing more than given them all the opportunity to say "cluck, cluck" - told ya so.
I don't think this is over.
Philip
ReplyDeleteYou are a wise man.
After Vatican II, there was, to put it mildly, much disdain for the pre-Vatican II style of religious life. It might be smart to go back to that. Those strict rules and discipline were all in place for a reason. Yes, there were always (and always will be) fall-outs, but not at the same rate we have them today.
We heard back then much about "maturity"...well, from the looks of things, we are even less mature today than we were back then.
As a priest I once knew used to be quite fond of telling us, it is all about original sin.
Veronica
It makes sense to handle it quietly like Bishop Gracida wrote but it's too late now. If Fr. Corapi is guilty of everything stated by SOLT then I would think he would quietly make amends of his behavior instead of a lawsuit but if he is NOT guilty then certainly a lawsuit is in order.
ReplyDeleteDid Corapi not have an opporunity to keep it quiet? When he was first put on leave, he went public with it,and it prompted the SOLT to respond a few days later.
ReplyDeleteHe could have just canceled his appearances for personal reasons, and everyone knows he has dealt with sickness, so I don't think anyone would have blinked had he backed out in such a fashion.
But, he obstructed the preliminary investigation by holding those odd non-disclosure agreements over the accuser and other witnesses. Who ever heard of such agreements where you can't say anything about anything?
He chose this path.
Keep in mind, that any action the SOLT may have wanted to take, would have needed to be supported by the bishop of Corpus Christi. The are a Society of Apostolic Life and the buck stops with the bishop, unlike a Pontifical. Did the SOLT superiors try previously to clamp down, and were they supported in that effort? Did Corapi threaten litigation, or resist as he is now doing publicly?
Non-Disclosure agreements are a common corporate practice when executive level individuals are fired. It is done to protect the corporation from high level, high visibility employees attacking the corporation after they are terminated. They are usually also associated with some quid pro quo, so they have a benefit for the person signing them.
ReplyDeleteAnother common agreement is the non-compete agreement, for much the same reason. Since Fr. Corapi has corporate experience and the handling of some of his ministry was a business, none of these practices are particularly unusual. Those that see inherent problems in them simply don't know much about the corporate world.