Fr. Corapi Responds to Some of His Order's Charges

[Robertanthony]

He mentioned using Facebook, Twitter, and podcasting, as well as web radio, and then “hopefully” regular radio to reach a wider audience. I get the impression that he will be broadcasting, not doing appearances any more. His first 2 messages were only audio, not video, which suggests he’s going to be a voice on the radio or internet, instead of a visual. In fact, in his “Moving On” video, he seems to me to be uncomfortable in front of the camera.

The whole thing is insanity, IMO. What could he talk about now? How can he even BE a sheepdog when he is cutting himself off from the shepherd? I hope he doesn’t start tearing down the Church, but I kind of fear that, honestly. His spirit seems so bitter and angry, and paranoid. And I think he’s not with safe companions.

Please, Lord Jesus, help Father Corapi come back to his senses!

I echo your concern.

A few thoughts on the last ten years. Everyone here will concede that being a priest is a tough calling and that priests give up and sacrifice many, many things. Now on top sacrifice and self-denial, the shame and persecution that stems from the sex scandals certainly add immensely to the already very tough state of a priest. Father Corapi once told the story of a mother who reacted very angrily because he was looking at her baby (baby smiling back) in an airport waiting for his flight, so she snatched the baby from where he/she was and looked at Fr. as if to say: I know who you are and what organization you’re part of, and I’m not letting you come near my child, let alone look at him/her.
I also remember a video or an audio (tried unsuccessfully to find it on YT) where he was confessing his disillusionment and disappointment with the priesthood, it was done in a humorous way, comparing it to one day waking up next to your spouse and thinking (with an expression of shock) What? This is the person I married? It lleft me with an impression that something might be wrong and that if he was that unsatisfied, would he be able to carry on his priestly calling until “his butt was in Heaven” (IOW, until he died)?

 

[RevDrNorth]

I wish Fr Corapi would simply repent and go for therapy and healing. He needs an accountability partner (confessor) or someone to help him in his recovery. I think people would be supportive.

If he needs to be a lay person then there is a process with that so he can get married and live a different lifestyle. I am not sure whether he loved the prostitute or not (and I do not want to judge her as when she began living with him she may have given that up). Of course the two of them living together is a problem but he is not the first priest with a girlfriend.

The thing is there were honorable ways to deal with all of these issues.

 

[franas]

Fr. Corapi has a long history of drug and alcohol abuse. I have a close family member who has a long history of drug and alcohol abuse, and I can tell you firsthand that persons who suffer from addiction look for others who will go to every extreme to enable and support them, no matter how bizarre and extreme their behavior becomes. Fr. Corapi’s behavior - if nothing else - is absolutely BIZARRE at this point.

Now you’ve crossed the line. It’s one thing to say there’s an allegation of drug and alcohol abuse, it’s something else to affirm emphatically that Fr. Corapi has “a long history” as if you have personal knowledge.

I’m going to take a break from posting. But think of this, how much do you know about the SOLT organization? How much do you know about Fr. Sheehan? What’s the skeleton in his own closet? Granted that SOLT may be an “arm” of Mother Church, does Fr. Sheehan’s verdict rise to the level of dogmatic truth? Do you even know the names of the fact-finding trio? Do they go to confession on a regular basis, teach CCD classes or go to the pro-life marches? On the other hand, we do know Fr. Corapi quite well.The question is why some people have placed their complete trust on people who they don’t know anything about? So I will ask the same question:

How on earth, can any human being engender such a level of blind trust that he or she choose repeatedly to suspend all logic and reason in denouncing a priest who’s been so faithfully preaching and teaching the Faith for 20 years? I say, let’s be prudent and at least wait until the jury is out.

 

[Veridical16]

I echo your concern.

A few thoughts on the last ten years. Everyone here will concede that being a priest is a tough calling and that priests give up and sacrifice many, many things. Now on top sacrifice and self-denial, the shame and persecution that stems from the sex scandals certainly add immensely to the already very tough state of a priest. Father Corapi once told the story of a mother who reacted very angrily because he was looking at her baby (baby smiling back) in an airport waiting for his flight, so she snatched the baby from where he/she was and looked at Fr. as if to say: I know who you are and what organization you’re part of, and I’m not letting you come near my child, let alone look at him/her.
I also remember a video or an audio (tried unsuccessfully to find it on YT) where he was confessing his disillusionment and disappointment with the priesthood, it was done in a humorous way, comparing it to one day waking up next to your spouse and thinking (with an expression of shock) What? This is the person I married? It lleft me with an impression that something might be wrong and that if he was that unsatisfied, would he be able to carry on his priestly calling until “his butt was in Heaven” (IOW, until he died)?

That’s very sorrowful. These stories should be used for a good, we have to return that hatred with love and prayer. And we should love our priests, be kind to whichever priests we see…

I wish he would just find refuge in the Lord when those moments would take it out of him. Blessed are you who mourn…

I wish Fr Corapi would simply repent and go for therapy and healing. He needs an accountability partner (confessor) or someone to help him in his recovery. I think people would be supportive.

I wish St. Francis was around so he could remind Fr. Corapi about the Eucharist, pray to him.

“There is a story about St. Francis of Assisi, that the townsfolk wanted him to come and straighten out a priest who was living in sin with a woman. When St. Francis arrived at the priest’s door, instead of berating the priest, St. Francis knelt and kissed his hands. The priest was immediately convinced of his sin and amended his life.”

St. Francis, who was getting toward the end of his life. He couldn’t walk very well, and was blind. But a group of people from a particular parish went to see him about their pastor. The poor priest was shacking up with a woman, creating scandal, etc., and they wanted St. Francis to go straighten him out. (Give him what for!) So, St. Francis made his way to the priest’s house and they knocked on the door. The people were waiting with baited breath for St. Francis to “get him!” But, St. Francis, being full of humility, knelt before the priests, grabbed his hands, and kissed them saying, “All I know is that these hands bring me Jesus!” (Referring to the Eucharist.) As it was, the poor sinful priest converted on the spot and began living an exemplary life.

There is still hope, Corapi can repent. If he shuts down his site and cleans it up, that will be the first sign. Keep offering the masses for him. Adoration.

Give the anger to God. I know his 50 % coupon nonsense is upsetting and tempting to call out, but if he is doing damage , and on the path to do more, that is for God to handle.

And we can call it out without being angry. but he really has opportunity and God waiting for him to realize how great it is for him to be a priest and return to it.
Corapi is just one priest, so his scandal, can be used to help pray for the perseverance of the faithful priests and more graces to be cut loose by our intercessory prayers and offerings…

More

qvdays.org/linksandarticles/priestlyhands.htm

 

[GeorgetownHoya]

If only the Catholic Church would act as strenuously when the alleged abuse involves a child.

 

[GraceSofia]

If only the Catholic Church would act as strenuously when the alleged abuse involves a child.

Oh, puleeeez.

Of course, she does. All it takes now is ONE letter, one accusation, and the mechanisms kick in, resulting in automatic removal of the priest from contact with youth.

In the last 10 years there have been hardly any new cases; most of the time the media is covering very old cases, or "new"cases are brought about incidents that supposedly happened 20 or 30 years ago.

Please read if you think the Church does nothing. The Church does a lot. A child is safer in a Catholic parish than he/she is in a public school in the USA or in a Protestant church.

vatican.va/resources/resources_guide-CDF-procedures_en.html
nccbuscc.org/comm/restoretrust.shtml
fallibleblogma.com/index.php/a-catholic-response-to-the-sex-abuse-scandal/
catholicleague.org/rer.php?topic=The+Sex+Abuse+Scandal&id=108

 

[JReducation]

If only the Catholic Church would act as strenuously when the alleged abuse involves a child.

The reason that the process has become so aggressive is because in 2001, Bl. John Paul asked Cardinal Ratzinger to set up a quick way of dealing with the allegations of abuse. Under the old system, if a person made an allegation, that person had to prove it. Until the allegation was proven, the accused was allowed to continue working. As a result, children were hurt. Bishops made many mistakes in handling the situation. Bad advice was given and people followed it, believing that it would work.

The solution was to go the other way. You are “grounded” until proven innocent. You’re not guilty, but you may not be in active ministry.

We know this does not stop abuse. But it has helped minimize it. I read somewhere that the number of complaints in 2009 for the USA were six. Given that we have several thousand priests and religious men and women in the USA, that’s a major improvement. It means that the system works. We’re filtering out abusers and discouraging anyone who may be tempted. If you put your hands in the fire, you’re going to be burnt. There will no longer be a “let’s wait and see” attitude.

As in all situations, there are going to be casualties. In the past, many of the casualties were children. I would rather see innocent adults than innocent children be casualties. Adults can recover faster and can defend themselves better.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[mom4mary]

Now you’ve crossed the line. It’s one thing to say there’s an allegation of drug and alcohol abuse, it’s something else to affirm emphatically that Fr. Corapi has “a long history” as if you have personal knowledge.

Actually, anyone who listened to Fr. Corapi preach - as I did, but apparently you have not - would know this because he shared it publicly in his talks. Good grief! Please inform yourself about this man who you seem to be so very intent in exonerating of all wrong doing!

 

[NeedImprovement]

…

“There is a story about St. Francis of Assisi, that the townsfolk wanted him to come and straighten out a priest who was living in sin with a woman. When St. Francis arrived at the priest’s door, instead of berating the priest, St. Francis knelt and kissed his hands. The priest was immediately convinced of his sin and amended his life.”

Fr. Michael Scanlan , T.O.R , in his little book The Holy Spirit © 1998] ; Franciscan University Press , gives these details about that event (pgs 16 & 17) :

" St. Francis’ reverence for priests , even corrupt priests , is legendary . one time St. Francis kissed the hands of a priest who was believed to be keeping a mistress and said , ’ I do not really know whether these hands are stained … In any case, I do know that, even if they are , this in no way lessens the power and efficacy of the sacraments of God ; those hands remain the channel whereby God’s graces and blessings stream down on the people. That is why I kiss them out of respect for what they administer and out of respect for him who delegated his authority to them.’ (*Thirteenth Century Testimonies, n.*6) "

… A most opportune time to point out something that continues to be misconstrued on these threads ever since this news about Father Corapi broke :

Some of us (members of CAF for a considerable time) have a profound respect for the ministerial priesthood and for Who instituted it – a respect along the lines (maybe not as perfect yet) of that same respect St. Francis showed . It isn’t something we can turn on and off like a water faucet. It is more something we breathe. And if it is meant to change at all when it concerns a particular priest who has (allegedly or otherwise) fallen , then, in the example of St. Francis , we are called, as Jesus says to [Matt 5:48 , DRV] “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.”

In EUCHARISTIC PRAYER I FOR RECONCILIATION our Heavenly Father’s love which we are meant emulate is described :
EP I for Reconciliation:

… When we were lost and could not find the way to you, you loved us more than ever;

This is our Catholic Faith-

**lex orandi, lex credendi**

Now neither that profound love for the priesthood and He who instituted it, nor choosing to reserve making up our minds on a matter until more information comes to light (always one’s prerogative), while praying generously for Fr. Corapi (whatever his state) in the meantime … none of that makes anyone a “follower” of John Corapi . It makes us followers of Jesus Christ if anything ; if anyone has an inkling just what it means to love the ministerial priesthood.

If that specific understanding of the ministerial priesthood still escapes you, please don’t erroneously stick “follower” of John Corapi labels on us , just because you can’t quite grasp exactly where we’re at. We express concern and we pray for Fr. Corapi, because at the end of the day, that is the only thing that will make any difference. We try to emulate that love of our Heavenly Father.

Repeating a priest’s (alleged) sins over and over again on a thread serves no positive purpose; neither to one’s soul, nor to the priest, nor to the ministerial priesthood which is at the heart of our Holy Catholic faith . Whom or what exactly is someone emulating in that case ? …… Well, a refresher on who the *Great Accuser *is , can be found in Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation and in Chapter 3 of the Book of Zechariah .

(* Hail Mary said for Fr. Corapi; Hail Mary said for his accuser; Hail Mary said for Bishop of Corpus Christi and for the members of SOLT).

 

[mom4mary]

Do you even know the names of the fact-finding trio? Do they go to confession on a regular basis, teach CCD classes or go to the pro-life marches? On the other hand, we do know Fr. Corapi quite well.The question is why some people have placed their complete trust on people who they don’t know anything about? So I will ask the same question:

How on earth, can any human being engender such a level of blind trust that he or she choose repeatedly to suspend all logic and reason in denouncing a priest who’s been so faithfully preaching and teaching the Faith for 20 years? I say, let’s be prudent and at least wait until the jury is out.

Actually, SOLT has not released their names and they should not have to in order to “prove” something to those who choose to view them (SOLT) as liars. However, they have described who the persons are professionally speaking who make up the “trio” as you have called them. Here is an excerpt from a news article from Lifesitenews that contains the SOLT statement that gives this information, followed by the link to the full article:

“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.”

lifesitenews.com/news/solt-fr-corapi-guilty-of-sexual-misconduct-drug-abuse/

Have you actually even read the statements from SOLT, or have you just dismissed them out of hand? Furthermore, it is also a fact of public record that Fr. Corapi was arrested for DUI in 1999 in California, as has been discussed in these threads earlier on, before you began posting (you may wish to review the threads, even the closed ones). So for more than 10 years, there have been problems going on for Fr. Corapi. That is a fact of the public record.

SOLT has evidence on him, Franas. You may not like that, but they do. It seems that no matter what anyone says to you, you will not believe it, and that is certainly your choice. But before you continue in his defense, please inform yourself of all the facts surrounding his case and this discussion of it. I realize that the threads are very long, but there is a lot of information that seems to be coming up in your posts that has been hashed through, and even re-hashed through in earlier posts and threads.

 

[mom4mary]

*Quote:
Originally Posted by mom4mary
His own Order has declared him guilty.
*

**I have seen no such declaration. what makes you think this is true?
**

Because the SOLT statement of July 5th states this. Here is a link to the original:

lifesitenews.com/news/solt-fr-corapi-guilty-of-sexual-misconduct-drug-abuse/

 

[Shoshana]

Fr. Michael Scanlan , T.O.R , in his little book The Holy Spirit © 1998] ; Franciscan University Press , gives these details about that event (pgs 16 & 17) :

" St. Francis’ reverence for priests , even corrupt priests , is legendary . one time St. Francis kissed the hands of a priest who was believed to be keeping a mistress and said , ’ I do not really know whether these hands are stained … In any case, I do know that, even if they are , this in no way lessens the power and efficacy of the sacraments of God ; those hands remain the channel whereby God’s graces and blessings stream down on the people. That is why I kiss them out of respect for what they administer and out of respect for him who delegated his authority to them.’ (*Thirteenth Century Testimonies, n.*6) "

… A most opportune time to point out something that continues to be misconstrued on these threads ever since this news about Father Corapi broke :

Some of us (members of CAF for a considerable time) have a profound respect for the ministerial priesthood and for Who instituted it – a respect along the lines (maybe not as perfect yet) of that same respect St. Francis showed . It isn’t something we can turn on and off like a water faucet. It is more something we breathe. And if it is meant to change at all when it concerns a particular priest who has (allegedly or otherwise) fallen , then, in the example of St. Francis , we are called, as Jesus says to [Matt 5:48 , DRV] “Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.”

In EUCHARISTIC PRAYER I FOR RECONCILIATION our Heavenly Father’s love which we are meant emulate is described :

This is our Catholic Faith-

**lex orandi, lex credendi**

Now neither that profound love for the priesthood and He who instituted it, nor choosing to reserve making up our minds on a matter until more information comes to light (always one’s prerogative), while praying generously for Fr. Corapi (whatever his state) in the meantime … none of that makes anyone a “follower” of John Corapi . It makes us followers of Jesus Christ if anything ; if anyone has an inkling just what it means to love the ministerial priesthood.

If that specific understanding of the ministerial priesthood still escapes you, please don’t erroneously stick “follower” of John Corapi labels on us , just because you can’t quite grasp exactly where we’re at. We express concern and we pray for Fr. Corapi, because at the end of the day, that is the only thing that will make any difference. We try to emulate that love of our Heavenly Father.

Repeating a priest’s (alleged) sins over and over again on a thread serves no positive purpose; neither to one’s soul, nor to the priest, nor to the ministerial priesthood which is at the heart of our Holy Catholic faith . Whom or what exactly is someone emulating in that case ? …… Well, a refresher on who the *Great Accuser *is , can be found in Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation and in Chapter 3 of the Book of Zechariah .

(* Hail Mary said for Fr. Corapi; Hail Mary said for his accuser; Hail Mary said for Bishop of Corpus Christi and for the members of SOLT).

So well put my friend! My heart was truly touched by your words…words that are a light in the darkness. May the Lord bless and kleep you, may He continually shine His Face upon you and continue to give you His peace!

 

[mom4mary]

Being unfit for ministry can result from other things besides guilt. They may believe he has relapsed, and needs treatment.

In this case, SOLT has made it clear by their July 5 statement that, based upon the conclusions of their fact finding team, Fr. Corapi is not fit for ministry. The conclusions are their fact finding team are:

"SOLT’s fact-finding team has acquired information from Fr. Corapi’s e-mails, 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."

 

[jwinch2]

Now you’ve crossed the line. It’s one thing to say there’s an allegation of drug and alcohol abuse, it’s something else to affirm emphatically that Fr. Corapi has “a long history” as if you have personal knowledge.

Have you even listened to the man talk? His battles with addiction are common knowledge stated from his own mouth on many occasions. For someone who is so vigorously defending Father Corapi, you seem to be uninformed on pretty much anything having to do with him.,

I’m going to take a break from posting. But think of this, how much do you know about the SOLT organization? How much do you know about Fr. Sheehan? What’s the skeleton in his own closet?

It does not matter. As Brother JR has already stated on many occasions and, as you would know if you read the remainder of the threads on this subject or, if you actually listened to anyone and read the rule of St. Benedict as has been suggested to you more than once, it is not relevant. There is no requirement that his Superior be a good person for Father Corpai to have to obey him.

Granted that SOLT may be an “arm” of Mother Church, does Fr. Sheehan’s verdict rise to the level of dogmatic truth? Do you even know the names of the fact-finding trio? Do they go to confession on a regular basis, teach CCD classes or go to the pro-life marches? On the other hand, we do know Fr. Corapi quite well.The question is why some people have placed their complete trust on people who they don’t know anything about? So I will ask the same question:

Again, irrelevant and quite frankly disturbingly uninformed. SOLT is involved in many charitable works and they have a rule for their society that is binding to them. If you cared to take the time to do anything but post about things you don’t know anything about, you would know this.

How on earth, can any human being engender such a level of blind trust that he or she choose repeatedly to suspend all logic and reason in denouncing a priest who’s been so faithfully preaching and teaching the Faith for 20 years? I say, let’s be prudent and at least wait until the jury is out.

All Father Corpai has to do is appeal to Rome if he is being treated improperly. Until such time, the JURY IS ALREADY OUT, which you would know again, if you bothered to read anything that has been suggested to you. His Major Superior has every Canonical right to act in the fashion that he is. He IS judge AND jury until such time as Father appeals and wins his appeal.

Quite frankly, I have pretty much become convinced that you are simply trolling for a response. You don’t know anything about Father Corpai who’m you continue to defend an you know even less about the Church you claim to be a member of. I will be reporting your posts to the moderation staff and they can figure it out.

 

[wisdomseeker]

Some people don’t have all the same information or haven’t worked through the shock and processed the information yet. I think there a lot of good people that just don’t understand what has happened yet. Others see a few posts, perhaps without understanding the context that reinforce the idea that people are out to get Fr. Corapi or that there is a conspiracy of some sort.

Yeah and some people believes that we all have become saints that we no longer believe that humans still humans and very capable of conspiring against others. I just don’t see how we have become alll saints when we see that society is really gone so wrong these last days. I think we are worse than ever before. To assume the contrary is setting ourselves up for a big fall. Why is it that many continue to deny the presence of evil in ourselves in our days?

 

[mom4mary]

Yeah and some people believes that we all have become saints that we no longer believe that humans still humans and very capable of conspiring against others. I just don’t see how we have become alll saints when we see that society is really gone so wrong these last days. I think we are worse than ever before. To assume the contrary is setting ourselves up for a big fall. Why is it that many continue to deny the presence of evil in ourselves in our days?

But so many people, “out to get” Fr. Corapi, all at once? Do his own bizarre actions and statements not count for anything?

 

[qui_est_ce]

I just remembered what nice priests we have at our parish and how hard they work…it’s all you can do.

Very well put. We have so many good priests. I tell our priests how much I love their devotion to the parish, their wonderful homilies. We also get a seminarian every summer to serve in our parish. They are so passionate about their faith and the priesthood, it’s contagious!

When I discuss the bad priests (we just had one from a neighboring parish convicted of having pornography on his computer and soliciting a prostitute) they remain calm, and say the Church has always been under attack. These cases are usually long investigated and show a pattern before they are publicly exposed. They say focus on the positive and keep up the prayers!

 

[jwinch2]

Very well put. We have so many good priests. I tell our priests how much I love their devotion to the parish, their wonderful homilies. We also get a seminarian every summer to serve in our parish. They are so passionate about their faith and the priesthood, it’s contagious!

When I discuss the bad priests (we just had one from a neighboring parish convicted of having pornography on his computer and soliciting a prostitute) they remain calm, and say the Church has always been under attack. These cases are usually long investigated and show a pattern before they are publicly exposed. They say focus on the positive and keep up the prayers!

Agreed! We have been fortunate to have wonderful priests as well. Our parish just got two new ones and but the Catholic center on campus where I work has the same one still. All of them have been great. The average parish priest doesn’t get enough credit and is often as good of a speaker as some of the “rock star” priests which are out there.

The average parish priest has to put together multiple homilies on a weekly basis. I have no doubt that if they were given the time to plan a talk for several weeks that many of them could put together one that would be fantastic.

 

[JReducation]

Fr. Michael Scanlan , T.O.R , in his little book The Holy Spirit © 1998] ; Franciscan University Press , gives these details about that event (pgs 16 & 17) :

" St. Francis’ reverence for priests , even corrupt priests , is legendary . one time St. Francis kissed the hands of a priest who was believed to be keeping a mistress and said , ’ I do not really know whether these hands are stained … In any case, I do know that, even if they are , this in no way lessens the power and efficacy of the sacraments of God ; those hands remain the channel whereby God’s graces and blessings stream down on the people. That is why I kiss them out of respect for what they administer and out of respect for him who delegated his authority to them.’ (*Thirteenth Century Testimonies, n.*6) "

There are two things that are important here.

First, we must understand what our Holy Father Francis taught. He had a profound love and respect for the ministerial priesthood and he said and wrote that he saw nothing else of our Lord except the Eucharist, which was consecrated by the priest and it was through the priest that he received absolution. So that if he saw a fallen priest and an angel he would first kiss the hands of the priest, because the angel can neither consecrate nor absolve. In other words, Our Holy Father was delivering a message to a world very much like our own. There were many priests in very irregular situations and the heretics were capitalizing on this OK . . . some things never change. However, St. Francis did not deny the sins of the priest. He simply does not become his judge and prosecutor, nor does he abandon the faith because of the sins of the priest. That’s where he was going with this. My second point will demonstrate more clearly how he DID deal with priests.

Second, when he founded our family, it was a movement of lay men. The first friars were lay. Several diocesan priests came to him and asked to join him. Brother Francis admitted them, but they had to do several things that many people on this thread, who are Catholic, would be horrified. They had to give up their parishes. They had to give up all rights and privileges that came with being priests and submit to his authority and that of his successors, be they lay or priests. Most of them have been lay. They even had to give up the title Father for the title Brother and only he (Francis) could be called Father. They were to cook, scrub, do laundry, beg, preach, pray, and do everything that any other brother did. They were only allowed to celebrate mass when the superior of the house allowed them to do so. These things are still in place. The only thing that has changed is that we do call our priests Father, to avoid confusion for the laity, since all other priests are called Father.

Francis had a priest excommunicated because he disagreed with him and disobeyed him. Brother Elias later recanted and was reconciled with the Church. Eventually, he became the superior and died a holy death.

The point is that Francis respected and loved the priesthood. He was not about to leave the Church, because of the sins of the priest, nor deny the power of the Eucharist and absolution. That would be silly. However, he governed priests and he created a brotherhood that has lay and ordained friars, where priests can’t even celebrate daily mass without the permission of the superior, even if that superior is not a priest. He demanded that priests comply with the duties imposed on them by the consecrated life of the brotherhood. He was neither a prosecutor of priests, nor did he practice a pious softness toward them. He demanded that they be what they should be.

In his family we had several great priests. To that come to mind are Bonaventure and Anthony of Padua. Bonaventure was a Cardinal. The friars ordered him to leave the Univesity of Paris, where he was writing the Summa with Aquinas and to leave his diocese, to dedicate his time to do three things: 1) govern the community, 2) be the kitchen help at the motherhouse and 3) write the definitive biography on St. Francis. Brother Bonaventure obeyed.

Anthony was an Augustinian brother who joined the Franciscans. He had no intentions of becoming a priest. He was such a remarkable pracher and theologian that Francis ordered him to become a priest so that he could teach at the University of Padua. However, when Anthony came to Assisi and asked to meet his beloved Brother Francis, whom he only knew through letters, our Holy Father walked right past him and refused to be introduced. When asked about it, he said, “Brother Anthony needs to learn the true humility of being the least of the low.” It had been Francis who had ordered him to be ordained, just the year before. Anthony went to Padua very sad, died three years later without ever being introduced to his beloved Father. Francis loved the priesthood and loved all men. But he also governed his brother priests with an iron fist. Yet, he had Br. Leo who was his confessor, secretary and nurse. Br. Leo was a scholar and a priest, whom Francis pulled out of the field of mission to work alongside him. He always referred to him as “Son” and loved him dearly.

There is one thing to be learned from this example of the erring priest. Francis faith was in the message, not the messenger. The message was Christ and the Sacraments. This is the attitude that we must always have .

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[JReducation]

Now you’ve crossed the line. It’s one thing to say there’s an allegation of drug and alcohol abuse, it’s something else to affirm emphatically that Fr. Corapi has “a long history” as if you have personal knowledge.

I’m going to take a break from posting. But think of this, how much do you know about the SOLT organization? How much do you know about Fr. Sheehan?

All that Catholics need to know about him is that he is the canonically elected Superior General of the SOLT and that by canonical and theological right he need not consult with anyone on this matter. He can suspend, judge and punish any of his subjects. It then falls on the subject to appeal. The Church will never call into question a major superior who acts within the three levels of law: Canon Law, Particular Law of the institute, and theological tradition.

If a major superior acts outside of the law, there is a separate process to address that. The community must present their concern to the Vicar General of the institute, who must file a complaint with the local bishop (because this is a society of diocesan right). The local bishop will suspend the major superior and a separate investigation begins. However, Father Corapi has not stated that Fr. Sheehan violated law. No one else who has been looking has observed any violation of law.

What’s the skeleton in his own closet?

The Church does not care about this, because the superior is not under investigation.

Granted that SOLT may be an “arm” of Mother Church, does Fr. Sheehan’s verdict rise to the level of dogmatic truth?

Fr. Sheehan’s verdict is supported by a doctrinal decree of the Council of Trent that state that religious are exempt from all other authority, except that of the Holy Father. Therefore, exempt from everyone else’s judgment. His decree may not be held up to scrutiny except by the Holy See. It would be the duty of the local bishop to present the concern to the Holy See. Even the local bishop cannot question Fr. Sheehan’s verdict. That’s how the Council of Trent holds up General Superiors of men. Obviously, you have to be male and to be a member of an institute of consecrated life to be covered by the privilege of exemption. There is along explanation about it on the Cath Encyclopedia under religious life.

How on earth, can any human being engender such a level of blind trust that he or she choose repeatedly to suspend all logic and reason in denouncing a priest who’s been so faithfully preaching and teaching the Faith for 20 years? I say, let’s be prudent and at least wait until the jury is out.

According to Church law, teaching and the laws of the SOLT, which all of us are bound to obey and respect, if we don’t, then we create chaos, the jury is out. The Superior General has issued his conclusions. If Father chooses to appeal and the conclusions of the Superior General are turned over on an appeal, like any other case, the verdict of the last jury stands.

As it stands right now, Fr. Sheehan must inform Fr. Corapi of his findings and share with him all the information that he has. Fr. Corapi has the right to examine that information. If he and his canon lawyer believe that Fr. Sheehan has been given misleading information, they must present the proof in a tribunal. The tribunal will rule on their presentation. Father may be exonerated or may be found guilty as charged by the Superior General. We don’t know how it will turn out.

We do know, that Fr. Sheehan must also file his findings with the Holy See. It is not the folks on this thread, but the Holy Father, who on Fr. Sheehan’s recommendation, will dismiss Fr. Corapi from both the consecrated life and the clerical state, without any further investigation and without concern for what good Father Corapi may have accomplished.

The Holy Father will wait a reasonable amount of time to allow Fr. Corapi to appeal to a tribunal or even to Fr. Sheehan himself. If Fr.Corapi does so, the Holy Father will not dismiss until the next jury comes in, as you say. If Fr. Corapi does not do so, the Holy Father will dismiss based solely on Fr.Sheehan’s recommendation. A General Superior does not need to present witnesses to the Holy Father to press for a dismissal. He simply presents the facts that he has on hand and he needs to make an oath that to the best of his knowledge, these facts are credible. The names of those involved in the investigation are sealed and may only be released to the public by those who participated or with their consent.

I have seen the Holy See wait as long as five years for a priest and/or religious to come forward and present an appeal. They are very generous with time. In the meantime, the pope goes on the information provided by the Major Superior. The laity, in this case, would be taking a position juxtaposed to that taken by the pope, to say that it needs some kind of proof that the Superior General is a credible person. The Church could care less if he has his own skeletons, as long as he acts according to law. He must present his information in good faith and be willing to accept a review by a higher authority and willing to cooperate in an appeal, if Father Corapi chooses to appeal.

Do you see how important this office is to the Church and how the Church upholds the office of Superior General. It’s not throwing Fr. Corapi under the bus. He has the right to an appeal. Until there is an appeal, this verdict stands and is accepted by the Church. The verdict is suspended, once an appeal begins. We can’t force Fr. Corapi to appeal. Nor can we follow him outside of the Church or leave the Church because we are angry with him. Both are very wrong and that’s what St. Francis was teaching us about priests. You separate the message from the messenger.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF