{"id":706,"date":"2011-06-19T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2011-06-19T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2011\/06\/a-reply-to-a-scold-from-a-priest-regarding-the-corapi-kerfuffle\/"},"modified":"2017-01-24T18:23:06","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T23:23:06","slug":"a-reply-to-a-scold-from-a-priest-regarding-the-corapi-kerfuffle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/yimcatholic\/2011\/06\/a-reply-to-a-scold-from-a-priest-regarding-the-corapi-kerfuffle.html","title":{"rendered":"A Reply to a Scold from a Priest Regarding the Corapi Kerfuffle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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\u2014Feast of the Holy Trinity<\/a> \u00a0<\/i><\/div>\n

I hadn\u2019t intended to write another word about John Corapi. In fact, I even closed off the comments in my recent post and left readers links to follow the story so I could just enjoy my Father\u2019s Day in peace. That was the plan, anyway.<\/p>\n

But I received an e-mail this morning from a Catholic priest upset over my \u201cMr. Corpai Goes. I Stay\u201d post. As you will find in the sidebar, I subscribe to the well known Welborn Protocol<\/i> when it comes to correspondence. So here is the note in it\u2019s entirety followed by my reply.
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Frank,<\/i><\/p>\n

Your comments regarding Fr. Corapi are remarkably cruel. Once an accusation is made, the priest is automatically suspended period. The suspension is indefinite. It is not the priest\u2019s choice in any way. He may not wear clerical garb, use any honorific titles, preach or engage in any sort of sacramental ministry. The priest is at a disadvantage from the get-go and rarely if ever is vindicated. Thank the good Lord Corapi is a religious in that he can return to his community so he has a place to live and food. Diocesan priests in his situation do not have that to fall back on.<\/p>\n

The magnitude of the injustice is hard to fathom. Everyone has a right to his reputation and his good name.<\/p>\n

Whether or not Fr. Corapi\u2019s message, style, and ministry appealed to you is beside the point. Yes, life will indeed go on whether or not he is preaching, etc. But to write in such a cavalier fashion about a priest\u2019s life and ministry that is now thoroughly destroyed is really mean spirited.<\/p>\n

You do no service to the Faith by writing as you did regarding Fr. Corapi.<\/p>\n

In His Name,<\/p>\n

Fr. B<\/p>\n

Dear Father B,<\/p>\n

I appreciate your note, though I am at a loss to see how I was as \u201ccruel\u201d with Corapi as you feel I was. Actually, I didn\u2019t even get warmed up. Indeed, the post that I believe you are referring to<\/a> is only the second time I have ever even written about the Corapi kurfuffle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Help a brother out!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

In the first instance, I wrote a lay pastoral note<\/a>, if there is such a thing, to those who followed him, giving them suggestions on how to spend their time strengthening their life of faith. I hope you do not find fault with that. Surely brothers and sisters in the faith must encourage one another<\/a> when the going get\u2019s rocky.<\/p>\n

And in Corapi\u2019s case, he knows who his accuser is. He\u2019s said so repeatedly, and even said in his latest announcement that she is \u201cthe one person that I can honestly say I did more to help and support than any human being in my entire life.\u201d Honesty, after all, is the best policy. As for the investigation process, I look to others for guidance.<\/a> I humbly know my limitations.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m just a simple man, Fr. B, and a relatively new Catholic. One of the many things that impresses me about Catholic priests and religious is that they take vows of Chastity, Poverty, and Obedience. They sacrifice much for the reward of leading people in the faith. The priests bring us the Sacraments, so that our travail in this valley of tears through life on earth are made bearable. Thanks be to God for this.<\/p>\n

Later on, I learned that not all priests take the vow of poverty<\/a>. Though most Diocesan priests aren\u2019t exactly wealthy, some are. Either way, the same safety net that is extended to every citizen of this country is extended to priests and religious as well. Unemployment compensation, Social Security, etc. All are covered, including unemployed priests. I\u2019m not sure if Mr. Corapi qualifies for unemployment now that he has resigned from the priesthood though. I think you actually have to lose your job for a different reason than quitting it in order to collect unemployment compensation. I could be wrong on this.<\/p>\n

Anyhow, as the Corapi kerfuffle continued to unfold, I ran into other stories about how not only did Corapi not take a vow of poverty, but that he set up a \u201cfor-profit\u201d media empire instead. That he lived in a sumptuous mansion and estate out West. Owning multiple homes and, for all I know, maybe he has a private helicopter too. Granted, I don\u2019t know whether these stories are all true or not (I hope the truth all comes to light somehow), but I understand that the order he was affiliated with, the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity<\/a>, basically didn\u2019t make a single penny from all of the books, tapes, and speaking engagements that he sold over the course of his career as a Catholic priest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Feed me $$$, sheep.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

As a rookie lay Catholic, I\u2019m not sure why anyone in the Church heirarchy would give any priest carte blanch<\/i> to make a ton of money off the flock, you know, Elmer Gantry style, that didn\u2019t somehow wind up helping the poor in Mother Teresa\u2019s mission field, or in some other way that helped spread the Good News to the world. This raises serious questions in my mind. Questions that I hope those who are better versed, and who have deeper knowledge in these matters than I, pursue and bring to resolution. I\u2019m just Joe Six-Pack, USMC. At best, all I can do is handle ridiculous pseudo-dramas like this in a cavalier manner.<\/p>\n

As the drama continued to spin, frequently from late Friday afternoon Scud missiles launched from Corapi\u2019s lair at Santa Cruz Media<\/a>, there were other things I heard as time went on. Like when someone in the past had busted Corapi\u2019s chops when he had claimed to have enlisted in the Army with a guarantee for Special Forces training. But, as the Corapi version of the story goes, due to a training accident (an unlikely one involving a helicopter) he wound up as a clerk-typist in Germany instead, making outstanding clerk-typists, who serve in the military with honor the world over, look bad in the bargain. If this episode, claiming Special Forces training and black-belt fighting skills, etc.<\/a> is true Father, then it is just plain wrong. <\/p>\n

News flash: No one enlists with guarantees for Special Forces training. Not in my military experience anyway. No, first you endure all the regular training, spend some time in your specialty, and only then can you apply for, and appear before selection boards for, special duties like I did when I became a Marine Security Guard.<\/a> Anyone who claims that they were guaranteed the Green Beret in the local Army recruiters office definitely does not pass the \u201csmell test.\u201d That is unless you\u2019re looking for the \u201cStinky Cheese Man.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0I am not.<\/p>\n

So now, a short three months later, the world learns that Corapi is giving up his vocation as a Catholic priest, and instead is launching a new, and I reckon \u201cimproved,\u201d venture with a new name and a creepy photograph of a (dyed?) black canine eyeing sheep and wolves with equally malevolent stares. So I said what you perceived as a cruel thing:<\/p>\n

As for me and my house, we won\u2019t be waiting for salvation via Pirate Radio broadcasts from Mr. John Corapi anytime soon. We\u2019ve better things to do. And better speeches to read.<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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Happy Fathers Day!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Guess what else we won\u2019t be doing? Buying his books and tapes to hear his side of the story. You know how the Dark Lord monologue will go. On and on about how he has been unjustly treated by the evil bishops who felt threatened by his zeal for all the Truth, Goodness, and Beauty\u2122<\/i> (registered trademark by BlackDogUp! Enterprises) that he was bringing to the flock. Time for a reprise of my other cruel remark:<\/p>\n

\u201cYawn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Have a listen to this classic by Nick Lowe before moving on to the next segment of my reply, if you please.<\/p>\n