My Thoughts on the Father Corapi Situation; Father Corapi Denies Allegations

Yesterday the head of SOLT made some startling accusations against Father Corapi. Father Corapi - The Black Sheepdog - has released a statement denying the allegations. I will say that I don't know whether Father Corapi is guilty or innocent but the way that both the SOLT leadership and the bishop of Corpus Christi have handled the investigation of these allegations is extremely troubling in my opinion.  They still refuse to show Father Corapi's lawyer the so called evidence against him.  It just seems highly suspect to me that not long after Father Corapi decides to go public to defend himself and condemn the way the investigation is being handled that SOLT makes these allegations public.  Just because the superior of SOLT released a statement of allegations doesn't mean that they're true.  He didn't provide any evidence to prove that his allegations are true.  People have stated that the leader of SOLT wouldn't release this statement if he didn't have proof to back his claims up but these are the same type of people who hold the same type of mentality as those bishops who moved priest pedophiles from one parish to another and thought the pedophile priests could be healed. The higher ups play the CYA game. These bishops or priests aren't necessarily that bright. This is an extremely sad situation folks :(  Everyone who is involved in this debacle needs our prayers.

Here Father Corapi denies the allegations:

I am going to answer in a simple, straight forward way what seem to me the main elements of the action taken against me by the Diocese of Corpus Christi and the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity.

Regarding my personal financial situation—From the earliest days (more than twenty years ago) the Founder of the Society of Our Lady, Fr. James Flanagan, encouraged me to support myself and the Church as well. He said they could not afford to support my ministry and me personally because of the unique nature of the mission. At every step of the way, through the entire past twenty years, the Society of Our Lady’s leadership knew of my financial independence.  As Fr. Flanagan encouraged, I have supported SOLT and myself from ‘day-one.‘  I have never relied on the Society for shelter, clothing, transportation, medical care, or legal counsel and instead, using my history of success in business, set up my mission as any savvy business man would, meanwhile continuing to support the Society and many other Catholic Charities.

Regarding the charge of sexual impropriety—This song of greed has been sung many times before.  I have never had any promiscuous or even inappropriate relations with her.  Never.

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.  Questions that certainly qualify the validity of any legal case have never been answered by the so called “fact finding team.”  They refuse to reveal, and therefore utilize, any of the so-called evidence perhaps because if ‘the bad guy’ were truly revealed it may be revealed that he is really not that bad.  Clearly, as my legal counsel has portrayed, the evidence supplied by the accused (of which my counsel is not permitted access to) must not have any substance.

Regarding ‘hush money’—I never paid anybody off to remain silent. On two occasions there were standard severance agreements executed with former employees and independent contractors. These agreements contained very common non-disclosure provisions. Any attorney who would not include such provisions in such agreements would rightly be guilty of negligent and actionable conduct.

Regarding my resignation—I resigned because the process used by the Church is grossly unjust, and, hence, immoral. I resigned because I had no chance from the beginning of a fair and just hearing.  As I have indicated from the beginning of all this, I am not extinguished!  If I were to commit to the suggestion of the Society, then I would essentially crawl under a rock and wait to die.  However, I can not deny this desire to share aspects of Truth and Hope with all those willing to hear.  This is what I shall continue to fight for!  Many are not going to appreciate this decision, and I respect that.  For those who can accept it, onward!

Is It Right For the Church To Presume Guilt? Fr. Corapi Breaks His Silence

Okay, now I know the Church or the bishops were wrong in the way they handled the sex abuse cases prior to the sex abuse scandal becoming public but IMO the Church had a reactionary approach and committed a wrong (and two wrongs don't make a right) by having a zero tolerance policy which presumes the person accused is guilty even when there isn't any evidence to prove one way or the other.  In Father Corapi's case his accuser wasn't a child at the time that the alleged incident took place.  In fact the person who made the complaint is a disgruntled former employee yet the bishops investigating have made no distinction there.  Cardinal Avery Dulles recognized that the process is flawed. The process needs to be changed to favor neither party.  It needs to be similar to that of civil law.

What choice did Father Corapi have? To stay in investigative limbo for years?  People such as Mark Shea think that he is abandoning his active ministry to the priesthood.  Has he really had an active ministry since he was placed on leave?  I don't think so.  How do the people who are criticizing him know that he would return to active ministry, period?  Have these people ever been accused?  Accused of something falsely?  Well, I have so I can sympathize with Father Corapi.  While I do not know for sure if he is innocent or not I suspect that he is innocent. His new ministry in my opinion is a way for him to teach the truth about the Catholic Church without being boxed in because of the situation he was placed in by the bishops who are investigating the allegation made against him.  They want him to produce evidence of something that didn't happen.  Is that even possible?  You might ask the question "Is Fr. Corapi trusting in the Lord?"   Actually I think that he is trusting the Lord.  He is trusting that the Lord will bless his new ministry, which is not an adversarial one against the Church but in fact preaching the Church's Truth - Jesus' Gospel - but in a different capacity than before.  When God closes a door he opens a window.  IMO Fr. Corapi is rising from the ashes and accepting his plight - the injustice being done against him - and moving forward to preach the Word of God as God has called him to do.  One last question - What would happen if some person made a complaint against one of the bishops who is investigating the allegations against Fr. Corapi would that bishop want to be held to the same standard - impossible, harsh standard - that he is holding Father Corapi to?  He who lives by the sword dies by the sword.

Here is his statement below: