Fr John Corapi has Announced in a Video Message that he is Leaving the Priesthood

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I did read posts on a FB saying to withhold funds and the people were quite nasty in blaming EWTN. EWTN didn’t do anything wrong and although his programs and shows aren’t there, until the dust settles, they are avoiding scandal and not “taking sides”.

EWTN is the only station like theirs and doesn’t pay anyone for endorsements or commercials. I have seen a larger number in the red than usual and agree, some is from hard times, but if some larger donations stopped, because of Father’s situation, that is sad.

He hasn’t mentioned them and probably wont, but supporting good Catholic television is always a good thing. I only watch so much, not being home during the day, but have learned a lot and have met so many people though the live shows. I’ve gotten good book suggestions, follow the nuns there and in Arizona and Texas and always am amazed at how much one little feisty nun was able to do but then she had good helpers. : )

I hope they recover with God’s help and some being a little more generous.
 
debraran said:
I did read posts on a FB saying to withhold funds and the people were quite nasty in blaming EWTN. EWTN didn’t do anything wrong and although his programs and shows aren’t there, until the dust settles, they are avoiding scandal and not “taking sides”.

EWTN is the only station like theirs and doesn’t pay anyone for endorsements or commercials. I have seen a larger number in the red than usual and agree, some is from hard times, but if some larger donations stopped, because of Father’s situation, that is sad.

He hasn’t mentioned them and probably wont, but supporting good Catholic television is always a good thing. I only watch so much, not being home during the day, but have learned a lot and have met so many people though the live shows. I’ve gotten good book suggestions, follow the nuns there and in Arizona and Texas and always am amazed at how much one little feisty nun was able to do but then she had good helpers. : )

I hope they recover with God’s help and some being a little more generous.
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I have never given. I give to our local food pantry and other local charities plus my Parish all the time, but I think I will start giving to them monthly. They had nothing at all to do with this, and I think people who are withholding money for this is just plain wrong. I will send a check out in the morning.
 
debraran said:
I did read posts on a FB saying to withhold funds and the people were quite nasty in blaming EWTN. EWTN didn’t do anything wrong and although his programs and shows aren’t there, until the dust settles, they are avoiding scandal and not “taking sides”.

EWTN is the only station like theirs and doesn’t pay anyone for endorsements or commercials. I have seen a larger number in the red than usual and agree, some is from hard times, but if some larger donations stopped, because of Father’s situation, that is sad.
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Fr. Corapi was one of their most popular shows. Part of it is going to be a decrease in viewership and therefore ultimately a decrease in donations. Not all of it is due to a withdrawal of support out of protest. There are a lot of people that have no idea whats going on other than the TV guide says Fr. Corapi and he hasn’t been on.
 
BirthWorker said:
New message up at the Black Sheepdog website.

theblacksheepdog.us
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Thank you for the update.

I was taking a look at the website and I am astonished by how Father Corapi is so preoccupied with someone having ‘stolen’ his dot com, yet, calls the sheep of Our King and Lord Jesus Christ his ‘fans’ and wants to provide a website for them to keep in touch with him. They are not his sheep they belong to Our Lord Jesus Christ. Their rightful shepherds are their Bishops and they do not need a rebellious black dog to guide and protect them.

THE BLACK SHEEPDOG
On June 17, 2011, Corapi released an audio announcement on his Facebook page, YouTube channel, and his company, Santa Cruz Media’s, website proclaiming his new movement towards “The Black SheepDog.” Combining the personified characteristics of “a black sheep,” and the “sheep” and role of a “sheepdog,” Corapi claims his newfound mission is the same, delivering messages of ‘hope’ and ‘truth,’ but now to a wider-audience. He launched a blog-site: www.TheBlackSheepDog.us to allow his fans to begin establishing a ‘home’ where they can be in touch with him, directly. A member from his media team shared “this is a very exciting move for John and his fans, as for the first time, in a long time, John will be directly in touch with this fan-base by way of social networks.”

I was also taking a look at some articles:

Popular Catholic Priest John Corapi Calls It Quits, Blasts Church Leaders On His Way Out
huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/18/catholic-priest-john-corapi-quits-blasts-church_n_879839.html

renewamerica.com/columns/otoole/110623
Hail, Mary! Hail, the restoration of the fallen Adam!
hail, the redemption of the tears of Eve.
Intercede for us with the Lord.

Hail, Mary! Height, hard to climb, for human minds;
hail, depth, hard to explore, even for the eyes of angels.
Intercede for us with the Lord.

Hail, Mary! Throne of wisdom;
hail, security and hope for all who call upon you.
Intercede for us with the Lord.

hail, Mary! Favor of God to mortals;
hail, Mary, access ofmortals to God.
Intercede for us with the Lord.

Hail, Mary! Mother of the Lamb and of the Good Shepherd;
hail, gold for the sheep of his pasture.
Intercede for us with the Lord.

Hail, Mary! Never silent voice of the Apostles;
hail, never conquered courage of champions.
Intercede for us with the Lord.

Hail, Mary! Mother Star which never sets;
hail, dawn of the mystic day.
Intercede for us with the Lord.
 
I understand he was popular but most of his shows were reruns, hopefully people who really loved him have it copied or bought his DVD’s. You can see part on youtube type programs also.

I watched him a little, but found after a while, it was more “background”. I like interaction and live shows. And even if people tuned in for him, they weren’t giving money to him, they were giving it to the network. Without EWTN, he never would have reached the millions he did, which helped his profits later (they allowed him to put his website/phone # after his show)There is no way he would be having this much “talk time” without them and no matter what happens, as with Fr. Francis, they help a ton of people, not just Catholic with or without him there.
 
AshleyBelle said:
I think the video was singling out Mark Shea and Jimmy Aikin from their blog posts. …Although nothing in the video even began to address their points. Seriously, accusing these men of being “too closely tied” to the “bad” bishops??? Ad hominem abounds…It would have been much better for that video to address the posts rather than attacking the bloggers.

It just feels like people are turning against each other over all of this, and it’s terrible! You have Catholics who love Fr. Corapi but are just sort of shell shocked…You have people defending any attempt at logically assessing the situation as personally attacking “their guy” and now we have Catholic apologists attacking and accusing other apologists of getting “fat bellies” from writing in favor of “the wrong side?”

Like I said…this is just sad, and we all need to pray for Fr. Corapi, for the Church, and for one another.
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As I said in a previous post, there is another You Tube video on another Catholic(?) site that they absolutely ridiculed Fr. Corapi and the whole situation. It was truly terrible. I hate to say it but Michael Voris coined it correctly…disgusting. Satan is prowling pretty successfully as of late, sadly.
 
debraran said:
I understand he was popular but most of his shows were reruns, hopefully people who really loved him have it copied or bought his DVD’s. You can see part on youtube type programs also.

I watched him a little, but found after a while, it was more “background”. I like interaction and live shows. And even if people tuned in for him, they weren’t giving money to him, they were giving it to the network. Without EWTN, he never would have reached the millions he did, which helped his profits later (they allowed him to put his website/phone # after his show)There is no way he would be having this much “talk time” without them and no matter what happens, as with Fr. Francis, they help a ton of people, not just Catholic.
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Yes that’s what I meant viewers give money to EWTN. When they stop watching they stop giving money.
 
  1. PER FATHER CORAPI: HE IS NOT LEAVING THE PRIESTHOOD.
    His website, today: theblacksheepdog.wordpress.com/2011/06/23/please-understand-this-i-have-not-left-the-church/
"I think it’s a bit too easy to arrive at an erroneous conclusion when you base it on a fallacious presupposition. For instance, some very kind and fine people assume that I have “left the Church.” Please, understand this, I have not left the Church. I love the Catholic Church and would not “leave the Church.” I have resigned from public ministry, which is rather anticlimactic to be sure since I was out of it anyhow due to the suspension or “administrative leave,” which is tantamount to suspension. There are elements of this that you don’t know about, and that’s not your fault.

Once a man is ordained a priest he remains a priest for all eternity. Holy Orders is one of the three sacraments that imprints an indelible mark on the soul.

…

A priest is ordained primarily to confect the Eucharist. A validly ordained priest can do this in the normal setting of a parish or community celebration of the holy Eucharist, or in private, as I have done for twenty years.

…

I was ordained in 1991. He said it would be a huge mistake for me to ever be constrained by a parish or conventional way of life in one place. I did not take this upon myself. It was given to me by the Church and I was sent. Please don’t think I don’t value the sacraments. I do. However, the public administration of the sacraments was never what the Church told me to do. They sent me to preach. The two are not mutually exclusive. They are complimentary. Not all of the members of the Body of Christ are the same, but they are all necessary, noble, and holy."
  1. The website about the two dogs is either National Catholic Register or Creative Minority. Matt & Pat Archbold. “We Are God’s Chihuahua’s”. It could have been worse…it’s not Matt’s funniest, though.
  2. IT IS NOT, NOT, NOT, Father Corapi vs. the Church. Father Corapi is still part of the Church. Do not pit Father against the Church; he is not doing that, please don’t do that. It is, if anything, now, Father Corapi vs. the system, Father Corapi vs. his accusers, and/or Father Corapi vs. the Professional Catholic Bloggers.
I have no respect for most of those who blogged about this situation because they were falling overthemselves to cast the first stone. These were the same people who, three months ago, took the, “We need to wait and see,” approach instead of defending Father Corapi. WHY didn’t they want to take a stand?!! They wanted to distance themselves from this priest, though, they didn’t have a bad word to say about Mel Gibson during his infidelity. WHY?!! Why drag this priest through the mud? Why throw him under the bus? The same people, who took the, “we need to wait and see,” stand, “because we don’t know all the facts,” are the same, THE VERY SAME, who STILL do not have all the facts and yet took what very little they do have and put the blame on the victim, a victim who stands in as THE Victim. “Whatever you do to the least of these…” Disgraceful!
 
Raymond Arroyo’s “The World Over Live” will be discussing the situation tonight (and of course on the encores) with someone from the National Catholic Register
 
Cinette said:
*Fr Corapi has preached so eloquently on the Eucharist. The most important function of a priest is to consecrate the bread and wine. What is with Corapi? He is letting down a great number of people who looked up to him.

He has lost his marbles or what?

Cinette*
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He celebrates Eucharist every day, often by himself, especially when he is travelling. All he is saying is that he rarely participates in public liturgy. He has been called as a preacher, and the majority of his time and effort are focused on preaching, not ministering sacraments to the faithful. It does not mean he thinks them unimportant, or will not continue his daily obligation to cathect the Eucharist (unless the Church forbids him).

I have often had Protestants claim that Paul did not think baptism was important or essential to salvation by giving this passage:

1 Cor 1:17
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

But Paul did have everyone who converted as a result of his preaching baptized - it is just that they were effected by his assistants, not himself. He had to spend his time in prayer and study to prepare for preaching. If he baptized all that were converted, he would not have been able to have any quiet time at all for contemplation.

Father Corapi has been clear that he is called as a preacher - this is his primary charism, like Paul:

1 Cor 9:15-17
16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission.

His conviction that he must preach may be so strong that he is willing to do it in some other venue, even if his priestly faculties are suspended indefinitely. During the past three months he has been on administrative leave (suspended) he has continued to celebrate Eucharist privately (this is the duty of every priest) but just cannot share in that communion with others due to his status.
 
dfp42 said:
Does anyone have any thoughts of what they think could happen if the accuser was to come clean on this? What would it change or would it change anything anyway at this point?
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This is a good question. Even if she wrote to everyone retracting her previous statements, I am not sure this could be accepted. Canon Law is specific that witnesses not be coerced or pressured in any way, and it can be viewed that the lawsuit filed against her motivated her retraction. For that reason, it seems that investigation would still be required, to ascertain if she was actually under some duress in her retraction. That is the investigation that has been effectively halted due to the lawsuit.

I think, in order for such a retraction to be effective, Corapi would have to withdraw the suit, or amend the suit so that she was permitted to make the needed disclosures to the appropriate investigators.
 
guanophore said:
He celebrates Eucharist every day, often by himself, especially when he is travelling. All he is saying is that he rarely participates in public liturgy. He has been called as a preacher, and the majority of his time and effort are focused on preaching, not ministering sacraments to the faithful. It does not mean he thinks them unimportant, or will not continue his daily obligation to cathect the Eucharist (unless the Church forbids him).

I have often had Protestants claim that Paul did not think baptism was important or essential to salvation by giving this passage:

1 Cor 1:17
17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

But Paul did have everyone who converted as a result of his preaching baptized - it is just that they were effected by his assistants, not himself. He had to spend his time in prayer and study to prepare for preaching. If he baptized all that were converted, he would not have been able to have any quiet time at all for contemplation.

Father Corapi has been clear that he is called as a preacher - this is his primary charism, like Paul:

1 Cor 9:15-17
16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission.

His conviction that he must preach may be so strong that he is willing to do it in some other venue, even if his priestly faculties are suspended indefinitely. During the past three months he has been on administrative leave (suspended) he has continued to celebrate Eucharist privately (this is the duty of every priest) but just cannot share in that communion with others due to his status.
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These are important points. Not every priest has the function or calling of a parish priest. My uncle, for example, is a Jesuit, who spends most of his time teaching. It’s rare that he’s called to celebrate the Mass in public.

What I would very much like to hear at some point is that Fr. Corapi’s religious superiors approve of and support his private decision to “minister” apart from his priestly faculties. Unless and until this occurs, I do not feel comfortable following him.
 
ChadS said:
His blog post was original. It seems weird to me that significant amounts of his military training or duty assignments would be left off of his permanent record. I always thought that the military kept pretty good records in areas like this, but I suppose somebody will post to tell me that they keep horrible records etc.

But this at least does seem to be a significant find or at least clarification of his status in the military.

ChadS
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This isn’t “new” news. Fr Corapi has admitted that he was NOT a Green Beret some time ago. That is when I started to look and listen to him from a slightly different angle. The Black Sheep Dog name was registered in 2010, so he has obviously been thinking of this shift for awhile.

I am always searching for TRUTH. After praying about all of this, I came away thinking that it is sufficient to know that Jesus knows the truth in this matter, and He will resolve the problem in His time. I don’t need to try and figure it all out. I will take all the “true” lessons that I learned from Fr. Corapi and apply them to my life. I also know that this is a human being who is just as tempted to sin as the rest of us. Many worshiped and followed Fr. Corapi, when we should only have our eyes on Jesus. This idol worship does horrible things for the Idol’s soul. Many are saying the Fr. Corapi brought them to Jesus. Sorry, Jesus brought them to Himself using Fr. Corapi as the traffic director. And Jesus will make use of other souls who are ready to serve Him in this way. Maybe we have adored Corapi so much that he feels that only HE can bring others to Christ, therefore, he can’t stop for even a short time period.

I think the best thing now is to give Fr. Corapi a whole lot of space and stop the fanbase nonsense. If I could pull the plug on his website, I would, because it is only feeding the frenzy. I hope he reconsiders and joins his community and lives a nondescript life for a few years to let God feed his soul in silence.
 
coco2 said:
This isn’t “new” news. Fr Corapi has admitted that he was NOT a Green Beret some time ago. That is when I started to look and listen to him from a slightly different angle. The Black Sheep Dog name was registered in 2010, so he has obviously been thinking of this shift for awhile.

I am always searching for TRUTH. After praying about all of this, I came away thinking that it is sufficient to know that Jesus knows the truth in this matter, and He will resolve the problem in His time. I don’t need to try and figure it all out. I will take all the “true” lessons that I learned from Fr. Corapi and apply them to my life. I also know that this is a human being who is just as tempted to sin as the rest of us. Many worshiped and followed Fr. Corapi, when we should only have our eyes on Jesus. This idol worship does horrible things for the Idol’s soul. Many are saying the Fr. Corapi brought them to Jesus. Sorry, Jesus brought them to Himself using Fr. Corapi as the traffic director. And Jesus will make use of other souls who are ready to serve Him in this way. Maybe we have adored Corapi so much that he feels that only HE can bring others to Christ, therefore, he can’t stop for even a short time period.

I think the best thing now is to give Fr. Corapi a whole lot of space and stop the fanbase nonsense. If I could pull the plug on his website, I would, because it is only feeding the frenzy. I hope he reconsiders and joins his community and lives a nondescript life for a few years to let God feed his soul in silence.
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All very well put…totally agreed.
 
sedonaman said:
It is supposed to stir people up. Are the faithful suppose to roll over when Satan infiltrates the Church? As long as no names are mentioned, he’s just doing his job. He once told of a Catholic Church [unnamed] that had a woman on the cross over the altar and crystals in the holy water founts. When asked, the pastor said why these strange things were in the church: “The woman on the cross symbolizes the oppression of women by the church; the crystals were for power because we need all of it we can get.”

So, you don’t think Catholics should know about things like that going on in Christ’s Church?
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But what is the point of telling thousands of people on the radio about a weird unnamed church? Did he do anything to correct the priest in question? His efforts would have gone much farther if he’d helped correct the situation at that parish, rather than scandalized the rest of us with far out stories about these very uncommon problems!

And this really has nothing to do with Fr Corapi. I say the same about many of these “juicy” stories that get circulated without anyone seeming to do anything to correct the situation directly.
 
I know I already responded in this thread…but I was just thinking about something after listening to today’s announcement. However Fr. has been wronged or hurt in all of this, his reiteration of the statements “the church did nothing for me, the church didn’t lift a finger for me etc…” is troubling. I know the Church is left in the care of sinful humans, but ultimately the true leadership of our Church is Jesus Christ Himself. I truly hope somewhere in all of this that Fr. hasn’t lost sight of Christ being in complete control, and remembers that Christ has not abandoned him.
 
tm30 said:
I think it’s important that we just look at what we do know, based on public facts:
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Thank you for this very fine summary, tm30. I have a question about only one part that I found confusing:
  1. Father Corapi states that he is not leaving the priesthood, even though he has already conceded he does not need to perform any Sacraments (which are essential to the priesthood. In fact, the only thing he cannot leave is being a “priest”.)
I don’t think this is accurate, but please correct me if I am wrong, because I may have misunderstood. I do get that a priest is not required to minister any sacraments publicly, but I always thought that it is the duty of any priest to celebrate the Holy Eucharist. In the Roman Rite, I think this is daily for most, if not all. I know there are circumstances when they do not, such as imprisoned priests who did not have valid matter. But from what I have read, this is an essential aspect of the priesthood.

Again, thanks for your fine timeline and summary of facts.
 
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