The Asolute Latest on Father Corapi

Terrible. Terrible.

http://www.societyofourlady.net/

July 5, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

From: Rev. Gerard Sheehan, SOLT Regional Priest Servant Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Robstown, Texas

Fr. John A. Corapi submitted his resignation from the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity ("SOLT") early in June. SOLT is a Society of Apostolic Life of Diocesan Right with its regional office in Robstown, Texas.

While SOLT does not typically comment publicly on personnel matters, it recognizes that Fr. John Corapi, through his ministry, has inspired thousands of faithful Catholics, many of whom continue to express their support of him. SOLT also recognizes that Fr. 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.

A woman, well known to Fr. John Corapi, mailed SOLT a signed letter detailing allegations of Fr. Corapi's sexual activity with adult women, abuse of alcohol and drugs, improper sacramental practices, violation of his promise of poverty, and other wrongdoing.

After receiving the allegation, SOLT formed a three person fact-finding team to ensure that it handled this matter in accordance with canonical norms. The team included a priest-canonist, a psychiatrist, and a lawyer. Two were members of religious orders, and one was a lay Catholic. Two were men, and one was a woman. All three have national reputations and substantial experience in ecclesiastical processes related to priest disciplinary issues.

As the Society was engaging this team, Fr. Corapi filed a civil lawsuit against his principal accuser. He contended that she had defamed him and breached her contract. The contract, according to Corapi's lawsuit, contained a provision binding the woman to silence about him. He offered the woman $100,000 to enter this agreement.

SOLT's fact-finding team subsequently learned that Fr. Corapi may have negotiated contracts with other key witnesses that precluded them from speaking with SOLT's fact-finding team. Many of these witnesses likely had key information about the accusations being investigated and declined to answer questions and provide documents.

When the fact-finding team asked Fr. Corapi to dismiss the lawsuit, to forbear from foreclosing his mortgage, and to release her and other individuals from their contractual obligations to remain silent about him, he refused to do so and, through his canonical advocate, stated: "It is not possible for Father Corapi to answer the Commission's questions at this time."

SOLT's fact-finding team has acquired information from Fr. Corapi's e-mails, 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; He repeatedly abused alcohol and drugs; He has recently engaged in sexting activity with one or more women in Montana; He holds legal title to over $1 million in real estate, numerous luxury vehicles, motorcycles, an ATV, a boat dock, and several motor boats, which is a serious violation of his promise of poverty as a perpetually professed member of the Society.

SOLT has contemporaneously with the issuance of this press release directed Fr. John Corapi, under obedience, to return home to the Society’s regional office and take up residence there. It has also ordered him, again under obedience, to dismiss the lawsuit he has filed against his accuser.

SOLT's prior direction to Fr. John Corapi not to engage in any preaching or teaching, the celebration of the sacraments or other public ministry continues. Catholics should understand that SOLT does not consider Fr. John Corapi as fit for ministry.

Father Sheehan will not be available for comments as he is attending the SOLT General Chapter from July 5-23.

Ridiculous!

That's what I thought when I learned that Father John Corapi, one of the lone voices of actual orthodoxy in the Catholic Church has been placed on Administrative leave (presumably by the head of his religious order) due to a letter sent by a former employee accusing the well-known priest of several things. Here is the release from Father Corapi's website:

On Ash Wednesday I learned that a former employee sent a three-page letter to several bishops accusing me of everything from drug addiction to multiple sexual exploits with her and several other adult women. There seems to no longer be the need for a complaint to be deemed “credible” in order for Church authorities to pull the trigger on the Church’s procedure, which was in recent years crafted to respond to cases of the sexual abuse of minors. I am not accused of that, but it seems, once again, that they now don’t have to deem the complaint to be credible or not, and it is being applied broadly to respond to all complaints. I have been placed on “administrative leave” as the result of this.



I’ll certainly cooperate with the process, but personally believe that it is seriously flawed, and is tantamount to treating the priest as guilty “just in case”, then through the process determining if he is innocent. The resultant damage to the accused is immediate, irreparable, and serious, especially for someone like myself, since I am so well known. I am not alone in this assessment, as multiple canon lawyers and civil and criminal attorneys have stated publicly that the procedure does grave damage to the accused from the outset, regardless of rhetoric denying this, and has little regard for any form of meaningful due process.

All of the allegations in the complaint are false, and I ask you to pray for all concerned.

It seems to me that Satan finally found someone evil enough to do his work for him, as he had been trying to destroy John Corapi years before he ever decided to don the stole. Let's not forget Father Corapi's own words "Priests will always be the number one target for the simple reason: no priests, no Eucharist".

In today's "modern" church, upon the placement of an accusation, an accused priest is placed on immediate leave, damaging their credibility and doing much unseen damage to the priest. Do the Bishops care? Not at all. The Bishops are like scared rabbits when it comes to the threat of lawsuit. So scared as a matter of fact, that they throw their priests under the bus quicker than they'd give the Catholic funeral to a public sinner like Ted Kennedy.

But if a priest is giving scandal with an adult as is the accusation here, that is far a different matter than if the priest is sinning with children. Whenever children are involved, an immediate suspension is called for. But not in cases of adults. But that's just my opinion. Gunshy Bishops over-reacting to any accusation.

And also don't forget there have been hundreds of false accusations in the United States by unscrupulous people urged on by dirt bag lawyers, all trying to hop on the Catholic Church gravy train.

Also you must understand that even in the hierarchy of the Church in America there are well placed people that hate Father Corapi for his teaching as certainly as there are spineless priests who refuse to call out their superiors for heterodoxy or pastoral negligence. There are certainly people in the Church reveling in this latest development as we speak.

Please pray for all concerned, and most especially for Father Corapi during his time of suffering, please pray that the truth, for good or bad will be known, and that the evil will be displaced.

Those of us that know him, also know of his strong devotion to our Blessed Mother. She will not abandon him.