New SOLT Statement re: Father Corapi

[DavidPalm]

Well, until they actually made the announcement they needed no such proof. Evidence yes. But there are no civil crimes here, so they needn’t proof to stand in a court. Now that they made the announcement, there could be a civil case made by Corapi should the accusations be false. And proof in a court would be needed.

And this would strongly suggest that they believe they have solid evidence, else they are wildly imprudent to make this public. Because if you were to make such claims without solid evidence to back them up, it would be begging for a countersuit. So, as others have said here, now it’s up to John Corapi to make the next move.

 

[Marie5890]

Thank you very much for this - I am currently 2 years sober - but I have struggled since 2002 when I entered the rooms at age 22. My sponsor went out after her 15 year anniversary. I spoke to her while she was drunk 90 days later. It was a tough conversation. I pray for her. Last I knew she was still struggling trying to come back.

Will pray for you both Joan.

God Bless.

 

[Marie5890]

I feel for you. My 10yo son doesn’t know much about him, except that he has heard his name a few times in recent days (as much as I have tried to shield him from the talk, I wasn’t able to do it completely). This is the message I gave him when he asked me who Father Corapi was: As you know, (I have told my son before, I told him when he asked the other day, and I’ll lather rinse repeat), the leaders of our church are human, sinners, susceptible to the devil, and in fact may be targeted by the devil. So just like Peter himself denied Christ, we have had priests, bishops, and even popes who have done very bad things. The Holy Spirit has always protected the Pope from teaching wrong faith or morals, but they are not kept from sin. Unfortunately it seems that Father Corapi may have done some very bad things (my son asked me what, and I said that someone accused him of having an inappropriate relationship with a woman, among other bad things). He has taught some REALLY good things to many Catholics, including myself, and I am grateful for that. But he has made some big mistakes too. Maybe it’s because the devil went after him and tempted him because he didn’t like the message he was spreading. Or maybe it is simply because he is human and faced temptations like the rest of us do. After all he made a LOT of bad choices before he became a priest. We can be glad that we know the faith better because of what he taught us, but we may not be able to look to him as an example of being a good Christian anymore. We should pray for him though. We don’t know for sure what sins he has committed, or what his relationship with God is like, but we know that he needs our prayer no matter what. We should pray for ALL of our priests, because they do such an important job, and the devil doesn’t like it.

Good job there, Dad!!

 

[Marie5890]

This is a very sincere question on my part…why would they line up the sins publicly? Is it because Fr John went public himself? I do not understand…but will continue to pray…

From how I read it, I think not only to clarify, but they also stated that they do not see him fit to ministry and they expressed their concerns that he is misleading those who chose to follow him.

 

[turtle18]

Estesbob…both of your points have been spot on and really inspiring.

If indeed what SOLT is saying is true, how on earth could they have been so lax to allow this to happen? How could anyone who has made a vow of poverty amass over a million dollar in assets without that being on the radar of your superiors? I liked Fr. Corapi, but I always felt uncomfortable with the amount of money he was charging for his materials and this seminars and it was pretty clear that the money wasn’t going to a religious order. If I can tell that, why exactly did his superiors in the religious order turn a blind eye to it?

 

[brumano]

Father John Corapi has submitted his resignation from the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), the Register has learned.

Father Gerard Sheehan, regional priest servant of SOLT, said in a press release dated July 5 that the popular priest and speaker has inspired countless thousands of Catholics, “many of whom continue to express their support of him.”

However, Father Sheehan added, “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.”

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.

I hope all will remember that the Fr.'s submitting of his resignation does not at all signify an admission of guilt in any way shape or form unless he accompanies it with such a verbal or written admission.

I don’t know how the SOLT fact finding team “aquired information from Fr.'s emails…” but that’s highly highly problematic for many many reasons and none of it can be rightly attributed to Fr.Corapi unless again he himself directly acknowledges and admits that he wrote them, what does he say about this accussation?

 

[Mary_Gail_36]

Good job there, Dad!!

I thonk she’s a mom.

 

[estesbob]

Estesbob…both of your points have been spot on and really inspiring.

If indeed what SOLT is saying is true, how on earth could they have been so lax to allow this to happen? How could anyone who has made a vow of poverty amass over a million dollar in assets without that being on the radar of your superiors? I liked Fr. Corapi, but I always felt uncomfortable with the amount of money he was charging for his materials and this seminars and it was pretty clear that the money wasn’t going to a religious order. If I can tell that, why exactly did his superiors in the religious order turn a blind eye to it?

I suspect his superiors have the same problem. I do-always wanting believe the best about people. And it is undeniable that despite what he was doing in private he was doing a lot of public good.

. I doubt that anybody who was truly bought the the church by his preaching is going to throw up their arms and reject their faith because of his shortcomings. . The problem is going to be that the enemies of our church are going to use this as a cudgel to attack us- like the homosexual priest scandal another self-inflicted wound. . Unlike the homosexual priest scandal, however, at least his superiors stepped in and immediately took action when they saw there was a problem.

 

[vz71]

This is a very sincere question on my part…why would they line up the sins publicly? Is it because Fr John went public himself? I do not understand…but will continue to pray…

I have seen many posts on his facebook pages from people that seem to have bought into an us/them paranoia. Corapi himself has fed into this through rumor and inuendo played out on his part.

I view this as simply setting the record straight.

 

[Elizium23]

I think two things need to be pointed out here, that the SOLT is not a religious order, but a Society of Apostolic Life. And according to the press release itself, Father Corapi did not make vows, but promises, including poverty. There is a significant difference here between those things.

 

[Marie5890]

I thonk she’s a mom.

Opps…



Good Job there, Mom!

 

[ThyKingdomCome]

This is a very sincere question on my part…why would they line up the sins publicly? Is it because Fr John went public himself? I do not understand…but will continue to pray…

Assuming they are doing this with good intentions (which I suspect to be the case, although I’m smart enough not to put my complete trust in any human in this situation), I think it would be because he has such a strong following, that they see it as important to prevent large masses of Catholics from being led astray. I have felt from the moment this came out, that his authorities needed to speak out, and to clarify his status in the church and provide guidance for those who might follow him in the future. I didn’t expect a specific list of actions like SOLT provided, If I had to guess why they are being so specific, it would guess that it has to do with the fact that there is a substantial group of Catholics for whom his “obvious innocence” is a big factor in their remaining in his “cult of personality.” Just guessing here, of course, since I’m not actually Fr. Sheehan.

 

[Shoshana]

I think two things need to be pointed out here, that the SOLT is not a religious order, but a Society of Apostolic Life. And according to the press release itself, Father Corapi did not make vows, but promises, including poverty. There is a significant difference here between those things.

Yes, there is a world of difference! I myself as a married mother/grandmother will be making promises at the end of my novitiate with the carmelite secualr order…

 

[vz71]

And this would strongly suggest that they believe they have solid evidence, else they are wildly imprudent to make this public. Because if you were to make such claims without solid evidence to back them up, it would be begging for a countersuit. So, as others have said here, now it’s up to John Corapi to make the next move.

Unfortunately I have watched enough of this to believe his next move will be to file suit.

Everyone will be watching for the reaction. If these statements are false, a lawsuit would be expected. So true or not, I expect Corapi will file the suit.

It is becoming more and more painful to watch.

 

[Sailor_Kenshin]

As they stated, to clarify the situation.
Corapi has told everyone that the investigative process is ill-handled and clumsy.
That those chosen to investigate have no background or experience.

This is clearly not the case.

Well, until they actually made the announcement they needed no such proof.
Evidence yes. But there are no civil crimes here, so they needn’t proof to stand in a court.
Now that they made the announcement, there could be a civil case made by Corapi should the accusations be false. And proof in a court would be needed.

No, not at all.
The integrity of what he taught is intact. But the context changes some.
I would be concerned that someone will be introduced to Corapi through his Catechism series and then find the ‘new’ Corapi on the BlackSheepDog website and be misled.

People seem to WANT this to be true.

I think what is happening is strange on all levels. As far back as a couple of years ago people would post things like, “Father Corapi claims he benched 400 pounds. I know for a fact it was only 395, therefore all he says is a lie.”

Strange. Strange. All this ‘concern’ without benefit of trial, judge or jury. I wonder.

 

[Soldier_Of_God]

Proof positive that you cannot serve both God and mammon

My thoughts exactly. Very unforunate situation indeed. However, we follow the faith and not the individual.

 

[pnewton]

I think two things need to be pointed out here, that the SOLT is not a religious order, but a Society of Apostolic Life. And according to the press release itself, Father Corapi did not make vows, but promises, including poverty. There is a significant difference here between those things.

Thank you for the clarification.

 

[pnewton]

People seem to WANT this to be true.

Strange. Strange. All this ‘concern’ without benefit of trial, judge or jury. I wonder.

You must be reading a different thread. Not one person has said they want this to be true. If you are reading into people’s thread that they want this to be true, then it is inappropriate to assume the worst in others.

The allegations are very serious and plausible. Why would one not be concerned?

 

[Ghosty]

Apparently Fr.Sheehan has made up his mind but I’m not convinced especially since I’m gathering from Fr.Shehan’s statement that Fr. Corapi still maintains his innocence in statements that Fr. Sheehan claims are “misleading, false…mischaracterizations”, well these now become claims of Fr. Sheehan’s that do not establish facts and so they do not “set the record straight” as he wishes to assert. The tone and the quality of what Fr. Sheehan is putting forth here is very dubious; in the first place he neglects to inform on the outcome on the investigation of the recent allegations of only several months ago from the dismissed secretary at the Diocesan office; we know Fr.Corapi denied those, and I think it is very safe to say that if those allegations could have been substantiated that Fr. Sheehan would make that known, afterall this is the matter which was at immediate concern, yet no mention is made specifically of it which tends to strengthen the gut feeling that those accusations were false and so quite possibly could have been issued with malice toward Fr.Corapi as their root.

It was Fr. Corapi’s civil suits that prevented the investigation from going forward (this was mentioned in previous press releases). The claims can’t be substantiated, nor disproven, because Fr. Corapi will not allow them to be. It is very disturbing to me that Fr. Corapi does not want the investigation to proceed.

Prayers for all involved, especially Fr. Corapi.

 

[Elizabeth502]

Something is very peculiar with the entire process.
Why would SOLT release such a statement? What ‘proof’ have they offered that would stand in a court of law? No one has come to trial. It’s curious. Most curious.

If they consider “proof” to be the hearsay of someone with an axe to grind, with no corroborating witnesses or independent verification, and no professional, neutral investigative credentials, then I remain suspicious. Recall who composes the ‘3-member panel.’

Separately, “amassing” material goods is the fault of the SOLT. Hmmm. How come I know that he had material possessions for all these years in the Order – because – gee, could it have been that he mentioned some of these in his lectures? Not by amounts, not in detail, but it was clear that he had some separate possessions. How come I can understand public disclosures and the superiors in his Order cannot? (Or chose to evade their responsibility to supervise him, that they are now claiming is his fault.) The fact that he said at least once that he “didn’t need to take any money from his Order,” or from The Church (I think he put it) makes it obvious that he has other sources of income. He was not duplicitous about having private funds.

Such negligence on the Order’s part – that they are just now complaining of – would NEVER stand up in a civil court, against Fr. Corapi. There’s a principle in law – I forget the name of it – that says that if one party knows the other party is violating the terms of an agreement but tolerates it for any signficant period of time, that amounts to excusing that violation and making delayed prosecution of that violation unsupportable.

I find it fishy that they supposedly needed (originally) to delay & delay in their “findings” of guilt or innocence, yet suddenly shoftly after he leaves, the entire thing is speedily “adjudicated” swifly – after they realize that his departure carries with it a lot of controversy about the investigation.

I’d like a civil process, not a canonical/ecclesial one. And I assume he’s going ahead with his civil lawsuit, in which he will have to demonstrate Preponderance of the Evidence in front of a jury, which will require him to provide more than hearsay in his own defense. Until that evolves & is resolved, I remain unconvinced by miraculously timed conclusions of ‘investigations.’