Whatever happened to former priest Corapi?

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glendab said:
I agree that Father Corapi was a target for Satan. I also think that as a person with a former drug and alcohol problem as he was, he should’ve stayed on top of his recovery. I think he did like many who “get religion” after sobering up or getting clean. He, like so many others with the disease, substituted religion for recovery and left recovery behind and guess what? It works for a time and then time runs out and you forget where you came from and what you went through, then whammo, drunk or high once again with no way out. He wouldn’t be the first person who that has happened to, he won’t be the last. Hopefully he’ll find recovery once again and maintain it.

Once a person develops the disease of addiction, they are never entirely free of it. They remain addicts or alcoholics or both. They must do what they must to maintain their recovery or they lose it. The disease isn’t cured when they are abstinent, it is only arrested. To put it another way, Father Corapi used to be a cucumber, but he got pickled - he’ll never go back to being a cucumber again. Most people die of the disease of addiction and it gets very ugly. Only the lucky few find solid recovery. I can only pray that Father Corpi will find his way back to it and decide to keep it this time.

Glenda

P.S. I miss him. He was a dynamo and we were all blessed to have him.
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He may also have had a sex addiction. I have known a few people who went to AA and quit drinking but never addressed their issues of fornication and cohabitation. They seemed to think sobriety was enough. And certainly it is a great step in the right direction. But I got the impression that some people thought chastity was too old-fashioned and they missed out on really putting their lives right with God 100 percent. 😦 We really don’t know with Corapi, though, so I don’t mean to imply that I know such a fate happened to him. Temptations certainly abound in the world, and the devil will use whichever one(s) a soul is most vulnerable to in an attempt to snare that soul. The money thing probably didn’t help either in Corapi’s case. :twocents:
 
Thank you Memaw and InNomineDomini, I think I’ll play some of them and see how they affect me, and pray a Rosary for him. In a world when we have a shortage of priests (my parish is one), we need to pray that more have a vocation to the Holy Orders, even the ones who need to return to the faith. :signofcross:
 
book_and_bead said:
Me too. I would love to watch his DVDs again now that I’m officially Catholic but I have mixed feelings about it. I realize that he’s human like us all, but somehow I feel like all that happened takes away from the message. Anyone else experience this?
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I never really watched or listened to him before all this transpired, but I understand the mixed feelings. I would never use his materials in an official parish setting. As good as any of them might be, I wouldn’t want to use something I’d have to immediately qualify because of the presenter.

For private use, I think it could be okay, but even then, I’d be somewhat cautious. I’m not sure I’d feel confident accepting at face value some of his anecdotal stories. I’d basically be forced to treat them as parables that might have something valuable to teach even if they are not factually true.
 
Joe_5859 said:
I never really watched or listened to him before all this transpired, but I understand the mixed feelings. I would never use his materials in an official parish setting. As good as any of them might be, I wouldn’t want to use something I’d have to immediately qualify because of the presenter.

For private use, I think it could be okay, but even then, I’d be somewhat cautious. I’m not sure I’d feel confident accepting at face value some of his anecdotal stories. I’d basically be forced to treat them as parables that might have something valuable to teach even if they are not factually true.
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That’s a bit harsh. You mean he had absolutely nothing of value to say BEFORE just because he had a falling out with the church? I understand turning in the collar and from thence forth he may be questionable, but he WAS a Catholic priest. When I listened to him on the radio I respected him BECAUSE he was a priest. The only two shows I listened to was his and Bishop Fulton Sheen’s.
 
Casilda said:
That’s a bit harsh. You mean he had absolutely nothing of value to say BEFORE just because he had a falling out with the church? I understand turning in the collar and from thence forth he may be questionable, but he WAS a Catholic priest. When I listened to him on the radio I respected him BECAUSE he was a priest. The only two shows I listened to was his and Bishop Fulton Sheen’s.
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There’s a common notion around here I’ve noted, that if someone says/does something wrong or controversial it immediately invalidates everything else that person has done/said/written. A good example is the works of Thomas Merton.

I sure hope I don’t get held up to that standard on judgement day… 😦

I’ve never been a fan of Corapi, but if he made an orthodox statement one day, or wrote a perfectly orthodox book, it still remains so today even if he fell away. You never know, he may also amend himself and return.
 
Casilda said:
That’s a bit harsh. You mean he had absolutely nothing of value to say BEFORE just because he had a falling out with the church? I understand turning in the collar and from thence forth he may be questionable, but he WAS a Catholic priest. When I listened to him on the radio I respected him BECAUSE he was a priest. The only two shows I listened to was his and Bishop Fulton Sheen’s.
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I don’t mean it harshly. Like I said, I never watched or listened to his stuff either before or after all these things transpired. I know he touched a great many people’s faith lives for the better, so I have no trouble believing there are many things of great value. But I would still be cautious.

For example, I recall hearing second hand the anecdote he would share about him seeing rock bands dedicate their music to Satan back before his conversion. I’m a bit more skeptical of that claim in light of what has transpired.
 
As I understand his work, he was invited into a diocese by the bishop to give his talks. As well as his catholic radio work he was certainly screened for orthodoxy. So I don’t feel anyone has to worry about listening to his talks now. He was a good speaker and explained things well. He said things very carefully when it came to the faith.

Origin, in the early church, was a man who is frequently quoted and admired for most of his works. At the very end of his life he embraced a wrong concept about the faith, otherwise he might have been put up as one of the doctors of the church. But his works are still used to explain and defend the faith.

Let’s pray that Fr. Coropi receive the grace he needs.
 
Amen
Lormar said:
Father Corapi was a good priest that helped a lot of Catholics. What happened to him happens to priests every day in the Church.

Pray for Father Corapi, and take heed, lest you fall too.
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Amen. He needs our prayers.
 
fred_conty said:
As I understand his work, he was invited into a diocese by the bishop to give his talks. As well as his catholic radio work he was certainly screened for orthodoxy. So I don’t feel anyone has to worry about listening to his talks now. He was a good speaker and explained things well. He said things very carefully when it came to the faith.

Origin, in the early church, was a man who is frequently quoted and admired for most of his works. At the very end of his life he embraced a wrong concept about the faith, otherwise he might have been put up as one of the doctors of the church. But his works are still used to explain and defend the faith.

Let’s pray that Fr. Coropi receive the grace he needs.
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Yes Origen is another great example. Just because a train derails, doesn’t mean it wasn’t a train before it derailed!
 
OraLabora said:
Yes Origen is another great example. Just because a train derails, doesn’t mean it wasn’t a train before it derailed!
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It’s still a train, in need of much repair. Prayers for Fr. Corapi !!! God Bless. Memaw
 
OraLabora said:
Yes Origen is another great example. Just because a train derails, doesn’t mean it wasn’t a train before it derailed!
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This comment is another example of why you’re one of my favorite posters, OL! Very true, and very insightful.
 
If there is anyone here who no longer has any need of Fr. Corapi’s DVDs/CDs and would like to see them put to good use, please send me a private message.
 
I own many of Father Corapi’s CDs and DVDs. I was a loyal viewer of his shows on EWTN.

One of the things that bothers me most about his decision not to fight the charges to the bitter end is that he always spoke about his father and how his father would tell him, “Don’t give up. Don’t you EVER give up!”

His father used to give him that advice when it came to Father Corapi’s early experiences with boxing, and as a general rule in life.

Evidently, Father Corapi did not take his father’s advice with regard to the charges that Father Corapi says are false and untrue. He gave up. He did not fight, and he left his ministry and his priestly duties behind.

If I were to watch the DVD where he tells the story of how his father advised him to never give up, I could only think that Father Corapi is engaged in a “do as I say, not as I do” type of message.

It’s very disappointing and would leave me to no longer take anything else he says on his DVDs and CDs seriously.

I wonder if he even attends church anymore. I pray for him.
 
Jersey_Jeepster said:
I own many of Father Corapi’s CDs and DVDs. I was a loyal viewer of his shows on EWTN.

One of the things that bothers me most about his decision not to fight the charges to the bitter end is that he always spoke about his father and how his father would tell him, “Don’t give up. Don’t you EVER give up!”

His father used to give him that advice when it came to Father Corapi’s early experiences with boxing, and as a general rule in life.

Evidently, Father Corapi did not take his father’s advice with regard to the charges that Father Corapi says are false and untrue. He gave up. He did not fight, and he left his ministry and his priestly duties behind.

If I were to watch the DVD where he tells the story of how his father advised him to never give up, I could only think that Father Corapi is engaged in a “do as I say, not as I do” type of message.

It’s very disappointing and would leave me to no longer take anything else he says on his DVDs and CDs seriously.

I wonder if he even attends church anymore. I pray for him.
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Please consider sending them to Lormar, the post just before yours. God Bless, Memaw
 
Memaw said:
Please consider sending them to Lormar, the post just before yours. God Bless, Memaw
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I don’t want to part with my Father Corapi DVDs and CDs.

When I say I am disappointed in his reaction to the charges, and that he seems hypocritical when speaking about his father’s advice, I am speaking about him on a personal level. I know that his preaching is faithful to Catholic doctrine.

Father Corapi frequently used the phrase, “Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.” I’m not sure if those are his words or if he was quoting someone else. But it seems to me that the words are prophetic in his life.

Perhaps it is Satan who tempted Father Corapi with wealth and fame, which drove him away from his ministry. The shepherd was struck, but, as one of his sheep, I am not ready to scatter… 😉
 
One of my favorites articles in Psychology Today
is the one on “Mind Your Body, Willpower” what
research has found about the formula for success.
The one that spoke VOLUMES to me is
“No one is a lone Juggernaut, he who succeeds alone
also fails alone!” Even Jesus has twelve supporters!!!
 
Jersey_Jeepster said:
I don’t want to part with my Father Corapi DVDs and CDs.

When I say I am disappointed in his reaction to the charges, and that he seems hypocritical when speaking about his father’s advice, I am speaking about him on a personal level. I know that his preaching is faithful to Catholic doctrine.
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Fr. Corapi isn’t alone in this. There have been others who personally went off the rails but whose teachings were sound as well as vice versa, of course. The problem with him using his father’s words is that they are not spirit and life, but human ideals instead. No one can remain faithful to Christ merely by human efforts. We remain faithful through cooperating with God’s grace. If Fr. Corapi was depending on human effort, such as his father’s advice, then he relied on the wrong thing entirely. Again, he wouldn’t be the first to do so and end up failing. It’s happened to a lot of people.
Father Corapi frequently used the phrase, “Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.” I’m not sure if those are his words or if he was quoting someone else. But it seems to me that the words are prophetic in his life.
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He was quoting Jesus who predicted that when he would be arrested his disciples would desert him. It’s true that many followed him in a near cult-like way, but I would say that most of his devotees are doing just fine without him and are remaining faithful to their faith in Christ and the Church. No one is indispensible. God uses us not because he needs us but because we need him.
Perhaps it is Satan who tempted Father Corapi with wealth and fame, which drove him away from his ministry. The shepherd was struck, but, as one of his sheep, I am not ready to scatter… 😉
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Yes, the world, the flesh and the devil work together to take souls down. That we have great saints who stood against these forces of evil tells us that God’s grace is greater, but again, we need to continually cooperate with God and not rely on our own efforts and ideas.
 
I discovered Fr. Corapi at a time when I was feeling very crushed under the weight of personal problems, serious doubts about my faith, etc. long story short, his preaching strengthened my faith, and I’m still Catholic today. I pray for God to send down His healing and blessing on him.
 
I miss him, I still listen to the “Lighthouse Catholic” cd he’s on “The Passion Applied to Your Life” on a weekly basis, usually every Friday night when I go to bed. Breaks my heart to listen to his obvious devotion to our Lord at the time…😦
 
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