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

[dfp42]

There was defiantly something brewing that’s for sure.

The claim that someone is selling a Rosary from Fr. John on ebay
the ebay sellers name see this cgi.ebay.com/160588110925#ht_858wt_1141 and this article from Santa Cruz Email Newsletter 11-24-09 fathercorapi.com/Webpage.aspx?WebpageId=31&CategoryId=25&utm_source=email_marketing_system&utm_medium=email&utm_content=7417001&utm_campaign=Father%20Corapi%20Newsletter%20-%20From%20Thanksgiving%20to%20Christmas%3A%20A%20Message%20of%20Hope and if you listen to 1:50 of this video youtu.be/MmehVX4FNoU I see something in comparison here anyone else?

 

[guanophore]

There was no “must” about it. His order did not ask him to leave, he decided on his own to do so. He is still a priest because ordination is permanent - he can’t just stop being a priest. But he has made his own decision to stop acting as a priest. In common parlance that is referred to as leaving the priesthood, even though technically he may still be considered a priest by the Church. It is no different than when any other priest walks away from their vows, they are technically still considered priests that are no longer in ministry.

There seems to be confusion about these matters. No, his order did not ask him to leave, but he was living under an arrangement that has been changed. I don’t think his status as a priest affects his participation in the religious community. Clearly, he can (and has been strongly urged) to come back to the community even though he has been suspended.

He did not choos to stop acting as a priest. He was placed on administrative leave (suspended). He has not been allowed to act in a priestly capacity (publicly) since the beginning of lent when the accusation was received. This was not his decision. It was imposed upon him by his superior and by the bishop. He did not choose to “walk away from his vows”. He was deemed unable to function as a result of the allegation, so his faculties were suspended (removed). Had he been cleared following the investigation, they would have been restored (presumably). However, he was under the impression that this was not going to happen. I think he could have remained indefinitely in the SOLT community as as suspended priest.

 

[Cinette]

St Francis is quoted as saying “Preach the Gospel at all times. Where necessary, use words.”

I find this turn of events troubling. I’m I the only one who feels he is walking away and breaking with the Magisterium? That is he turning his back on so much that he has preached and encouraged us to do?

I have several of this DVS’s I love the one on the Triduum. But now I know that if I were to watch that during Lent my thoughts are going to be “he walked away. he abandoned all that he taught from the pulpit”.

I pray for him and for all that have been touched by his message thru the years. I can only speak for me, but now I feel that the authentic credibility I felt he had, he has tossed aside as he walks away.

Authentic credibility means something to me. It actually means a lot to me infact.

I pray for Mother Angelica. I can’t help but wonder of the wounds this may cause her.

*I feel as you do.

There is much to say for humility and obedience.

I am struggling with my parish priest who is 80 and prefers to stay in the Parish where he is pampered and taken care of than to retire. He is unable to provide us with the teachings we need for our spiritual growth. I am fortunate I have EWTN and CAF but many don’t know what they don’t know…

Cinette*

 

[Cinette]

I find it very disturbing that, according to the article in the OP, Corapi blocked his order from investigating the charges against him by threatening to sue any of his employees that spoke to investigators. He said in the beginning that he wanted swift justice and for the truth to come out. His actions seem inconsistent with his stated goal. Not only may he have now effectively blocked the truth from ever becoming public, he hurls unsubstantiated charges at the bishops–the very thing he claims was done to him. And he apparently expects (or at least hopes) that some Catholics will continue to follow him even as he walks away from the Church. Very troubling.

*I hear you and understand your reasoning but… has he walked away from the Church? It would nullify all that he has taught and stood for.

Cinette*

 

[guanophore]

Yes, we should complain to the Nuncio regarding Bp. Gracida interference with Church procedures and public criticisms of Bishops and Canon Law. I already have.

Wouldn’t it be swell if Corapi got called to Rome. It sounds like he needs a sabbatical.

 

[guanophore]

Is a police report or a civil lawsuit considered public information to the world to see?

Yes. They are considered public records unless a civil matter is sealed or a gag order is issued.

 

[Joe_5859]

By the way, from what I understand, priests do NOT take a vow of poverty which is why Fr. Corapi has been able to keep his millions. Maybe it depends on their Order, but Diocesan priests don’t take this vow. I know he isn’t a Diocesan priest, but he has clearly been able to keep money earned from preaching.

Diocesan priests don’t take any vows at all. They make two promises at their ordination: the promise of chastity (which for all intents and purposes translates to celibacy for most priests) and the promise of obedience to the bishop and his successors.

As a priest in a diocesan right society, I would guess (and it is only a guess) that Corapi would have made these same promises that a diocesan priest makes. It would be a different story if he were a religious order priest (like a Franciscan, Dominican, Jesuit, etc.).

 

[Joe_5859]

I am curious what you think about (former) Bp. Gracida’s request that people to write to the papal nuncio about the actions of (current) Bp. Mulvey: abyssum.wordpress.com/ and the disclosure that Bp. Gracida has been advising Fr. Corapi all along–and was the one that suggested the civil lawsuit, which effectively stopped the investigation.

My general rule is not to speak ill of any bishop. I find Bishop Gracida’s involvement curious, but I presume he has his reasons for acting as he has,

 

[markomalley]

I don’t see how any of this applies. I never saw anything that said he asked to be laicized.

That information was given in response to post #17, where the person said:

Well, once ordained a priest, one is a priest forever (as it imparts an indellible mark upon the soul). However, priests can leave active ministry and even be laicized. It is certainly not desirable for priests to do so, but it happens. We shouldn’t presume anything negative about a man based upon that alone.

 

[dfp42]

Anyone know why www.theblacksheepdog.com isn’t his site and www.theblacksheepdog.us is?

 

[markomalley]

Anyone know why www.theblacksheepdog.com isn’t his site and www.theblacksheepdog.us is?

networksolutions.com/whois-search/theblacksheepdog.com

Registered to somebody else (in Kingfish Montana btw) last February.

The dot us address was registered on June 17th. networksolutions.com/whois-search/theblacksheepdog.us

Interestingly, when you type in theblacksheepdog.com, you get the following HTTP response from that URL:
(Status-Line) HTTP/1.1 301 Moved Permanently
Date Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:33:49 GMT
Server Microsoft-IIS/6.0
X-Powered-By ASP.NET
X-AspNet-Version 2.0.50727
Location onlinecatholicnetwork.com
Cache-Control private
Content-Length 0

Which, I’m sure some on this thread will find most interesting.

 

[debraran]

Father leaving the priesthood was mentioned in a sense, from his SOLT superior. If you read their last letter, 2 things stand out:
The SOLT is deeply saddened that Fr. Corapi is suffering distress. The SOLT is further saddened by Fr. Corapi’s response to these allegations. The SOLT will do all within its power to assist Fr. Corapi if he desires to seek a dispensation from his rights and obligations as a priest and as a professed member of the SOLT. We request your prayers and the intercession of the Blessed Mother for the healing of Fr. Corapi and for any who have been negatively affected by Fr. Corapi’s decision to end his ministry as a priest and a member of the SOLT.
Also they said ":
SOLT received a letter from Fr. Corapi, dated June 3, 2011, indicating that, because of the physical, emotional and spiritual distress he has endured over the past few years, he could no longer continue to function as a priest or a member of the SOLT. Although the investigation was in progress, the SOLT had not arrived at any conclusion as to the credibility of the allegations under investigation
Fr Gerrard Sheehan, SOLT
Regional Priest Servant.

So if he said he was not happy for at least 3 years, which coinsides with a lot of his lack of appearing, illness, etc. and they said they would help him get a diespensation, (maybe because they know he has issues that would help this along?) I think it’s easy to assume it was mentioned, why bring that up and they have his letter.

 

[Crumpy]

I have been troubled by the trajectory of Corapi’s ministry for several years. Early on, he used to use the gray habit of his order, but he seems to have abandoned that for black suits, etc. I don’t know what that meant, but it seemed to be a statement of some sort.

I am not totally a fan of Corapi’s, I was interested in him for what positive things he might have been able to accompllish for the Church. I just don’t see many priests achieve the level of popularity he has – something whose positive effects we desparately need in the Church – something to give us hope.

In many of the EWTN broadcasts, I didn’t like the tone of his homilies, always repeating the army stories and saying things like “rat’s you-know-what.”

Jesus, Himself, had to move around quickly but still preached the gospel. Corapi has now managed to have himself classified as an outcast. I’m not sure what he will be able to accomplish. The suspense is killing me. It must be bothering a lot of people, as evidenced by the traffic on this thread.

What he HAS accomplished is to bring some conflict further towards the boiling point. I think that is clear. What happens next may be spectacular. I hope and yet fear that some “unzipping” of unity is going to occur in the church. People may have to choose sides, and we may not even be able to decide which side to be on.

 

[debraran]

There are many Catholics, devoted Catholics, that have never heard of Fr. Corapi or really listened to him, but I realize he does have his base of “fans”. I know he mentioned his type of base once, making a crack about the gray hair in the audience, I was reading/watching TV and I remember looking up and thinking,just because their gray doesn’t mean they don’t need to hear things. Maybe other groups coudln’t pay or whatever, but it would have been nice to hear him with teens or colleges or a different venue. He never seemed to like the “question/answer” type environment which I loved on Mother Angelica’s show and Fr. Groechel’s, speaking the truth is easier than answering tough questions the way priests do everyday. Saying divorce and remarriage without an annulment is wrong is one thing, but hearing a young woman who can’t get one with 2 children saying how she met a nice man, a good man and can’t give her children a dad, is harder, answers might not vary, but it’s harder.

He mentioned in Coronary, a book about his law suit, he was uncomfortable with people, liked being alone, had “kooks” that would come out to see him.
If you put “corapi” in the book search, sections come up about him, 50’s are his early life, 60 up later, but most is on the lawsuit, not just him.

amazon.com/Coronary-True-Story-Medicine-Gone/dp/0743267559/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308737756&sr=8-1#reader_0743267559

 

[markomalley]

Here’s a couple of other interesting pieces of trivia.

In my previous post, I mentioned that theblacksheepdog.com was registered to somebody else in Kingfish Montana. The individual to whom it is registered has an e-mail address of ****@flatheadmedia.net (asterisked out since he is not a public person). This domain is owned by the same folks who flatheadmedia.com.

If you go to flatheadmedia.com and browse around a bit, you will find that they did a lot of marketing development for, guess who, Santa Cruz Media.

For example:
easycaptures.com/fs/uploaded/473/3080693399.jpg
easycaptures.com/fs/uploaded/473/2467574545.jpg

Lots of more examples on the site.

No problems, so far.

You will remember that I showed that www.theblacksheepdog.com redirected to onlinecatholicnetwork.com? Guess who owns the domain onlinecatholicnetwork.com? Same person.

Remember hearing about that ebay auction for Fr Corapi’s Rosary (the one blessed by Pope Bl JPII?) Guess who the seller is? His user ID is “flatmatt07”. Flathead media? Guess what the first name of the registrant for “theblacksheepdog.com” and “onlinecatholicnetwork.com” is?

And by the way, monthly subscriptions to the “Online Catholic Network” are available:
easycaptures.com/fs/uploaded/473/9260392489.png

There are insufficient dots out there to connect, but this is getting interestinger and interestinger every minute…

 

[debraran]

I never believed the rosary Ebay sale was from his accuser, I hope that what you found makes others see that.

 

[markomalley]

I never believed the rosary Ebay sale was from his accuser, I hope that what you found makes others see that.

I didn’t mention that since I didn’t want to be guilty of calumny. But since you bring it up…

James Mary Evans, author of Orate Fratres, posted that about a month ago on his blog. His source for the allegation was the Facebook Wall of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity. Mr. Evans made an error.

Facebook walls can be edited by the owner of the wall. The owner of the wall is fully capable of deleting anything written on that wall. Obviously, there is nothing currently on that wall that backs up Evans’ claim.

I hope he took a screenshot. I know, for myself, whenever I cite Twitter or Facebook, I take a screenshot, because the comment may not be there later on.

The reason I say that is Mr. Evans posted an allegation on his blog. I don’t know who made that allegation or their ability to know the information they allege.

Bottom line is that there is no way to “fact check” what was originally stated. Was it stated? We don’t know. Who stated it? We don’t know. Was it true? We don’t know (e-bay auction pages can also be edited…so screenshots there are advisable, as well).

I wish that Evans would have done a more thorough job before making that blog post. I don’t say whether it is true or not…but I have no way of verifying one way or the other.

 

[Dale_M]

It seems that Father Corapi will be in Massachusetts next month. Tickets are being sold on Ebay for $136.25 .

They are being sold by a private individual and not by Ticketmaster, and not by TD Garden (where the event supposedly would take place.) Just because something is offered on Ebay doesn’t mean its legitimate.

A quick check of the TD Garden website will show that Fr. Corapi’s speaking engagement for August 6th is cancelled.
tdgarden.com/calendar/217.html

 

[debraran]

Well, whether the accuser did it or not, it seems very easy for any real investigator to find out…this wouldn’t have been a long investigation especially if Father helped by giving things to his superiors or even paying for some of it. This isn’t a savvy woman, he portrays her as a lost soul.

I have to believe it’s not as bad as he makes it seem and so easy to disprove or it’s a smear job for her…I haven’t heard anything from the other side other than a letter was written. I hope no matter what happens to his vocation, this chapter of it ends soon.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

Isn’t it nice that everyone knows what Fr. Corapi ‘needs’ without knowing all the facts.