New SOLT Statement re: Father Corapi

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The problem with this is that it’s the same thing that happened with Archbishop Lefebvre and Father Martin Luther and a few others. Those stories are still haunting us to this day. Do people really want to go there?

The Holy See only gets involved if the issue is catastrophic. This is not the case here. As far as moral theology and moral theologians are concerned, there are no more souls at risk here than there would be if the local witch doctor setup shop next door. Father always taught what the Church believes. Therefore, what he tuaght has not stopped being true. As far as following him out of the Church, that’s a choice that people make on their own. Father does not make that choice for them. Those who leave the Church because they’re disappointed by Father are also making a choice on their own. Moral theology looks a these things very coldly. The question on the table is whether the souls are going to be lost because the Church is not teaching truth or because people are making poor choices, despite the Church’s teaching. If the reason is the latter, there is nothing for the Vatican to do here. Besides, that’s why each diocese constitutes an independent Church, so that the local bishop can deal with this. These are clled local Churches.
I would respond to your second paragraph by going back to your first. Cannot we afford not to go there? Martin Luther did massive damange to the Church and the Faithful. If you truly feel that this situation is akin to that, how can the Church stay silent.
As long as you share my first paragraph, it’s OK. My greatest concern in any such case is the perfection of charity. We must never forget that the other person is human. He has feelings, strengths and weaknesses just like the rest of us. The erros may be different, but they are still errors. None of us can say “I will never do such a thing.” We can say, “I have never done such a thing” or “I don’t know if I could do such a thing.” The good thing here is that our sins are a single drop in the ocean of God’s infinite mercy which is for the taking, if we simply ask for it. We can ask for it for us and for others. But we must also be merciful as God is merciful. If we become too intellectual about how we deal is an alleged sinner, we become cold and defensive. Siuddenly, we’re hyper vigilant, watching out for any sign of sin or error. God does not want us to live in a constant state of anxiety. St. Peter tells us to be awake and alert. He does not tell us to be paranoid. He’s referring to watching over our choices and our temptations. We can and should help each other, but we cannot and shouldnot make the other person’s choices so important that we are unable to be merciful.
Thank you,

Jason
 
But do you not see the harm when one preaches one thing but then lives another?

Yes he may have had his own opinions and lifestyle but the teachings he taught before this came up where what the Church Teaches. Now he has gone off on his own and seems to be, if not teaching, at least leading away from the Church.

Even if he gets his wish and is laicized he will never be allowed to preach or teach again. That is if he states a faithful Catholic. As part of the process of laicizition for a priest is that they are never allowed to act in a ministerial function (even as a lector or EMHC) nor are they allowed to teach. Now if he decides to do so in opposition to the Church then he will have separated himself from the Church to do his own thing and faithful Catholics should not follow him.
We are all hypocrites in some way or another, teach one thing and do another. But we ask Father for forgiveness and restore our relationship and remain faithful through it all. It seems the only man on earth that can preach according to us is a perfect man. Well, looks like noone is allowed to preach anymore in our eyes:cool:

Let’s say the accusations are true. I’ll say okay, the man messed up, lets forgive/pray and move forward. So now what? Can the gifts and Spirit be restored through confession, sure. Jesus said the gates of hell will never prevail but he did not say the devil is not going to put up a good fight! Satan finally succeeded at getting to him. Wow, who would have thought that a priest could succomb to Satan.

It’s our duty as the faithful to pick him up and help our brother to beat this. Who will stand up? It sounds like there is a hidden agenda that lies underneath and alot of people were so happy he got busted “doing” something. It reminds me of when I had a conversion of heart a few years back and went on a rampage speaking about Christ to my family/friends. Man, I screwed up a few months afterwards and boy o boy, the detractors were the first ones to come out and speak up. :mad: It upset me that my own friends and family would act that way. Did I get angry and make comments about these same people, sure. Was I unfit at the time during my anger, sure. Did I get through it with the prayers of faithful Catholics, you betcha.🙂
 
It’s our duty as the faithful to pick him up and help our brother to beat this. Who will stand up? It sounds like there is a hidden agenda that lies underneath and alot of people were so happy he got busted “doing” something. )
SOLT is standing up, for one. They want him to come home to the community and he told them that doing that would be tantamount to “crawling under a rock and waiting to die.” Many Catholics, both in the clergy and laity, are standing in the gap for him right now by praying for him and encouraging him to turn back to his vows and community. I don’t see all of these “happy” people that you see. I see people who are genuinely sad that he has fallen and hope that he doesn’t stay estranged from the Church. But in order for help to get to him, he has to be willing to accept it, and he has indicated pretty clearly that he is not open to being helped, nor does he even acknowledge a problem of any kind.
 
I did not take Lucy’s comment to mean that. I think many people - including me - looked up to Fr. Corapi as a true spiritual mentor and we are left feeling very, very shell shocked to find out what has been going on. It isn’t about being a sinner. I think most of us here understand that we are all sinners. However, even Fr. Corapi himself acknowledged that priests and religious are held to a higher standard, and rightly so, given their position in the Church. It is only right and natural to feel a sense of betrayal and bewilderment when such shocking revelations are made. I think as time goes on, we will all move on from feeling anger to just feeling sorry for him and hoping and praying for the best where this situation is concerned.
We must not look up to and place priests(men) on pedestals. You will always be disappointed. I’m not shocked at all that a man would “commit” these types of sins. I understand the feelings of betrayal and so forth but the bashing is just self righteous idiocy.
 
You must be the first person on the face of the earth that has never been hypocritical
So, it doesn’t matter how Catholics in the public eye conduct themselves? It’s not a bad thing if Nancy Pelosi says that she is an ardent practicing Catholic and that’s why she supports legalized abortion, or if Andrew Cuomo takes communion after pushing for gay marriage within New York State?
 
You must be the first person on the face of the earth that has never been hypocritical
This is not about anyone other than Fr. Corapi himself, a man who spent two decades eloquently and convincingly preaching love and duty to God and His Church, and is now rebelling and encouraging others to openly rebel against that same Church and her Bishops, including his own religious superiors whom he vowed to obey.
 
SOLT is standing up, for one. They want him to come home to the community and he told them that doing that would be tantamount to “crawling under a rock and waiting to die.” Many Catholics, both in the clergy and laity, are standing in the gap for him right now by praying for him and encouraging him to turn back to his vows and community. I don’t see all of these “happy” people that you see. I see people who are genuinely sad that he has fallen and hope that he doesn’t stay estranged from the Church. But in order for help to get to him, he has to be willing to accept it, and he has indicated pretty clearly that he is not open to being helped, nor does he even acknowledge a problem of any kind.
We don’t know all the facts at this point, thats the problem. “Happy people” - just google corapi’s name and you’ll find plenty of comments.

There is a hidden agenda though thats for sure…only time will tell.
 
We must not look up to and place priests(men) on pedestals. You will always be disappointed. I’m not shocked at all that a man would “commit” these types of sins. I understand the feelings of betrayal and so forth but the bashing is just self righteous idiocy.
I’m sorry, but I don’t see “bashing” going on here, rather a discussion of the facts as they are being presented all over the news cycle. Furthermore, In expecting certain appropriate moral and ethical behavior from a priest, a president, or anyone else in authority is not merely placing them on a pedestal, as you say, but is an expectation totally in keeping with the office and positions of authority that these people hold. As the Lord Jesus Christ Himself says, “To whom much is given, much will be expected.” Those are His words, not mine.
 
We are all hypocrites in some way or another, teach one thing and do another. But we ask Father for forgiveness and restore our relationship and remain faithful through it all. It seems the only man on earth that can preach according to us is a perfect man. Well, looks like noone is allowed to preach anymore in our eyes:cool:

Let’s say the accusations are true. I’ll say okay, the man messed up, lets forgive/pray and move forward. So now what? Can the gifts and Spirit be restored through confession, sure. Jesus said the gates of hell will never prevail but he did not say the devil is not going to put up a good fight! Satan finally succeeded at getting to him. Wow, who would have thought that a priest could succomb to Satan.

It’s our duty as the faithful to pick him up and help our brother to beat this. Who will stand up? It sounds like there is a hidden agenda that lies underneath and alot of people were so happy he got busted “doing” something. It reminds me of when I had a conversion of heart a few years back and went on a rampage speaking about Christ to my family/friends. Man, I screwed up a few months afterwards and boy o boy, the detractors were the first ones to come out and speak up. :mad: It upset me that my own friends and family would act that way. Did I get angry and make comments about these same people, sure. Was I unfit at the time during my anger, sure. Did I get through it with the prayers of faithful Catholics, you betcha.🙂
I understand your concern about the viciousness of Catholics and Christians. I always say the Church Militant is the only army that shoots his own.

However Fr. Corapi is not repenting, and is disobeying his superiors. He appears to be in deep distress, and simply saying nothing, or worse, telling him “You’re doing the right thing,” isn’t going to help. If someone is about to walk off a cliff, you don’t sit by and watch them walk towards the cliff, much less let everyone else follow behind him!
 
This is not about anyone other than Fr. Corapi himself, a man who spent two decades eloquently and convincingly preaching love and duty to God and His Church, and is now rebelling and encouraging others to openly rebel against that same Church and her Bishops, including his own religious superiors whom he vowed to obey.
Thank you. If a person is sinning, it is considered a Spiritual Work of Mercy by the Catholic Church to admonish them to repent, and to warn others not to follow him in sinning.
 
I do have a question about this though. Has he already walked away from his vows or promise he made with SOLT as a priest in good standing? It seems that SOLT has already warned faithful Catholics that from this point forward they are not to follow Corapi. Does that mean he’s been excommunicated automatically by virtue of his act? In other words, when SOLT issued the warning that he isn’t fit to minister as a priest, does that mean us lay people are not to follow him because he is outside the Church etc. Am I sinning if I were to continue following him since SOLT said this? I heard a priest called Fr. Bob on his blog stated that any Catholic who buys any of his materials from his website is participating in his sin and are sinning themselves. It’s this kinda confusion that is really making my head spin. Can you please explain this to me.
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Yes he is in violation of his promise of obedience but that does not necessarily mean that he is outside of the Church.

He is not excommunicated, if he was that would have been stated.

Mabye Br JR can touch on this in his next reply.
 
This is not about anyone other than Fr. Corapi himself, a man who spent two decades eloquently and convincingly preaching love and duty to God and His Church, and is now rebelling and encouraging others to openly rebel against that same Church and her Bishops, including his own religious superiors whom he vowed to obey.
It think we make it about ourselves when we don’t know all the facts and start acting self righteous. Note: these responses are not directed towards you personally;)

He did spend decades fulfilling God’s will for him. He may have had dark secrets beneath it all though. Who doesn’t.

The crisis going on within our Church with some leaders failing to preach against the attacks of atheism, homosexuality-marraige, and abortion just to name a few. I don’t blame the laity(faithful Catholics) for getting fed up and trying to do things on their own. But this is left for another forum…
 
We don’t know all the facts at this point, thats the problem. “Happy people” - just google corapi’s name and you’ll find plenty of comments.

There is a hidden agenda though thats for sure…only time will tell.
We don’t need to know all the facts, because it’s not up to us. It’s up to his religious superiors, and they have ruled.

There’s a murder case going on in my city for Anthony Sowell, a man accused of being a serial killer. I don’t know all the facts. But if the jury finds him guilty, I’m not going to urge him to break out of prison simply because I don’t know all the facts.
 
I’m sorry, but I don’t see “bashing” going on here, rather a discussion of the facts as they are being presented all over the news cycle. Furthermore, In expecting certain appropriate moral and ethical behavior from a priest, a president, or anyone else in authority is not merely placing them on a pedestal, as you say, but is an expectation totally in keeping with the office and positions of authority that these people hold. As the Lord Jesus Christ Himself says, “To whom much is given, much will be expected.” Those are His words, not mine.
again, these responses aren’t directed at you. They are more for the bashing that has been going on. Research a little and you’ll get the picture…🙂
 
The crisis going on within our Church with some leaders failing to preach against the attacks of atheism, homosexuality-marraige, and abortion just to name a few.
By this I take it you have done everything you can to preach to all of your family members, neighbors, co-workers, and people on the street about the evils of atheism, gay marriage, and abortion?

Wow! It must be lonely up on that pedistal!
 
We don’t know all the facts at this point, thats the problem. “Happy people” - just google corapi’s name and you’ll find plenty of comments.

There is a hidden agenda though thats for sure…only time will tell.
But I am not “googling” Fr. Corapi’s name. If you google it, you can find practically anything you want to find, no matter how insane. I thought that the context of my comments was understood - I am not seeing “bashing” going on here at CAF. I have no idea what people are saying in comment boxes across the internet. My comment was specifically regarding the discourse here at CAF.

Furthermore, yes, we do know enough of the facts to conclude that there is a serious issue going on here with Fr. Corapi. His bold disobedience makes it look not too good for him, but the choice to disobey is HIS and HIS alone. I’m not sure what other “facts” are needed at this point. Our Lord obeyed even unto death on a cross. Fr. Corapi is no better than the Master Himself, nor are ANY of us. We are all called to obey. It is our choice to say yes or to say no. Right now, Fr. Corapi has sadly chosen to say “No!”
 
Esp those of us who, being American, tend to try and put an over-lay of American justice and “rights” over everything. We tend to forget, that is not the case in so many things
Marie, I think you hit the nail on the head with this statement. The lines between civil (US) law and canon law are being intentionally obscured here. As Mr. Corapi said,
Regarding the investigation—As standard practice, my legal counsel advised me not to cooperate with the investigation until I was able to determine that the Commission’s process was fair and I had adequate rights to defend myself.
Father Corapi was subject to canon law and the rule of his order, but he talks about adequate rights to defend himself. He also stated,
Questions that certainly qualify the validity of any legal case have never been answered by the so called “fact finding team.”
It sounds as if Mr. Corapi wants an open trial based on US law as a US citizen, not any canonical process to which he is subject, and finds SOLT’s investigation and announcement as infringing on those rights he claims as a citizen. Although subject to both the law of the nation and the laws of the Church, he’s using the former to fight the latter.

It’s almost like a soldier saying, “I am not subject to the Uniformed Code of Military Justice because I am also a US Citizen.” It just doesn’t wash.
 
We don’t need to know all the facts, because it’s not up to us. It’s up to his religious superiors, and they have ruled.

There’s a murder case going on in my city for Anthony Sowell, a man accused of being a serial killer. I don’t know all the facts. But if the jury finds him guilty, I’m not going to urge him to break out of prison simply because I don’t know all the facts.
Yes, it is very important to hear both sides of the stories. And yes, facts are really important. So many priests have been falsely accused because of this way of thinking. 😦

I’m not advocating he rebel, but I do give him the benefit of the doubt. As we just witnessed with the Anthony case, juries can be a joke. :eek:
 
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