Lessons & Reflections on the Father Corapi Announcement

My Connection to Corapi

Honestly, it has still not sunk in that Father John Corapi may never preach again as a priest in the Roman Catholic Church. Father Corapi's conversion story, his preaching and teaching have had a tremendous impact on my development and formation as a Catholic man. I can still remember waking up in the middle of the night hearing his conversion story on EWTN. Stacey and I have been to several of his conferences, most recently last August in San Antonio. We own several of his CD's which have aided me in preparing many of my catechetical presentations for RCIA and Joe Catholic.

The Announcement

I was reluctant to write anything about this back at the beginning of Lent when Corapi made the accusations public on his website. Since then, very little had been heard about the status of the investigation until Corapi's announcement yesterday.

First Response

This is my immediate response: these are times for great charity, prayer, mortification and time spent on our knees before the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Not just for Father Corapi, but for ALL priests who come under severe attack from Satan and his minions. As I recently read in another Catholic blog, the devil "hates priests and bishops."

Something Not Right

I don't know if Father Corapi is innocent or guilty of the accusations made against him. At this point, I don't think that even matters. I have listened to his announcement and read the print version on his new website. The one thing that bothered me about it immediately, is his insistence that he will carry on in a new way. He says, "I can only do what I can do. I shall continue, black sheep that I am, to speak; and sheep dog that I am, to guard the sheep—this time around not just in the Church, but also in the entire world. I am, indeed, not ready to be extinguished. Under the name 'The Black Sheep Dog,' I shall be with you through radio broadcasts and writing." 

Disappointment and Disobedience

If he has been asked by his superiors and the bishop(s) to stop his public ministry as a priest, shouldn't he stop altogether? I don't know anything about Canon law but it seems to me that he is towing a fine a line. As another priest noted on his blog yesterday, Corapi is maintaining a "pretense of obedience while he is disobedient." Father Joe Jenkins, the BloggerPriest, goes on to say that once a priest is suspended, he "can neither preach nor teach religion." I think Father Corapi has even said in his talks: once a priest, always a priest. Jimmy Akin, of Catholic Answers, writes "it is hard to read this as anything but a statement that Fr. Corapi plans to ignore ecclesiastical supervision of any kind and continue his pastoral 'sheepdog' ministry."

Final Reflection

To say I am disappointed and perplexed by Father Corapi's actions is an understatement. I don't disagree that there should be some revisions to the judicial process faced by accused priests. Nevertheless, I hoped Corapi would fight THROUGH the process while quietly abiding by his superiors, perhaps even spending hours before the Blessed Sacrament. Instead, he has chosen a defiant path.

I think the following quotation says it all: “We should always be disposed to believe that that which appears white is really black, if the hierarchy of the Church so decides.” -St. Ignatius of Loyola