Press Release Concerning Fr John Corapi from SOLT Regional Priest Servant 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.

HT to Mark Kirkbride for this one.

Camel Thorn Trees, Namibia

Photograph by Frans Lanting, National Geographic

This Month in Photo of the Day: Travel and Adventure Photos

Tinted orange by the morning sun, a soaring dune is the backdrop for the hulks of camel thorn trees in Namib-Naukluft Park.

See more pictures from the June 2011 feature story “Africa’s Super Park.”

I referred them to a letter by then Cardinal Ratzinger to Cardinal McCarrick of Washington. Of course, Cardinal Ratzinger is now Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal McCarrick is now Archbishop Emeritus of Washington. I’ll post the document in its entirety below. It was made public the first week of July 2004.

End of Letter

This directly addresses those who deliberately vote for a candidate because they are in favor of abortion and I believe Cardinal Ratzinger makes it abundantly clear when deciding on how to vote. The note bene is there for a reason. (For those who don’t know, N.B. stands for “note bene” which means “note it well” or “pay attention!”.)

God does the same with Easter, that resurrection event, and stretches it for 8 days – called the Octave of Easter.

The Second Sunday of Easter is known as St Thomas Sunday, where we hear the story of Doubting Thomas. It’s also known as Quasimodo Sunday from the traditional Latin text of the Introit for this day, which begins “Quasi modo geniti infantes…”. Literally: “as if in the manner of newborn babies” from 1 Peter 2:2.

In 2000, Pope John Paul II designated the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday. In 2005 on the vigil feast of Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope John Paul II died. In 2011, Pope John Paul II will be beatified on the Feast of Divine Mercy Sunday in Rome by Pope Benedict XVI.

Sundown on Holy Thursday marks the beginning of three sacred days (Triduum) that changed the destiny of the human race.  Few of us have sufficient time to make use of all the following prayer suggestions during these holy days, but it would be a tragedy to let this season of grace go by without taking some time for extended prayer and reflection.  So steal away for as much time as you can and let the Spirit help you pick and choose what will best help you make the most of this special time.

Jn. 13:1-18:27 deals with the words and deeds of Jesus on the evening of Holy Thursday.  Prayerfully read as much of this as you can–these are some of the most powerful and moving chapters in the entire Bible.

Repentance for Complicity in Christ’s Betrayal  (approx. 60 min)

Read Lk. 22:39 through Lk. 23:26, but only after asking the Holy Spirit to answer these questions in the course of your reading:

1)       In what way am I an accomplice in the betrayal and execution of the Lord?

2)       Whom in the gospel narrative do I most resemble: the disciples asleep in the garden?  the cowardly Peter?  the irresponsible Pilate?  someone else?

3)       Write down the answers in your journal, if you keep one.

In response to the Spirit’s prompting:

1)       Pray a prayer repenting of the particular sins in your life that have made you an accomplice in the Lord’s betrayal and execution.

2)       Confidently ask the Lord to help you to root these sins out of your life.

3)       Engage in any spiritual warfare necessary to dislodge the Enemy from the area of your life under consideration.

4)       Finally, seal this process by a slow, prayerful reading of Ps. 51.  You might even feel led to memorize a portion of it.

Putting on the Mind of Christ  (approx. 30 min.)

Now that we have cast off the “mind” of darkness, we can put on “the mind of Christ.”

1)       Read Phil. 2:5-11 and consider how Jesus’ humble self-offering on the cross was the perfect manifestation of his “mind.”

2)       Read Phil. 2:1-5, 14-15 and see how Paul commands us to have the same mind as the Lord.

3)       Ask the Lord what particular characteristics of his mind he wishes to impart to you in a new way during these special days: humility?  obedience?  a new degree of service love?  some other?  Ask Him to show you how this is to be worked out concretely and practically in the present circumstances of your life.  Write in your journal whatever the Lord tells you.

4)       Say yes to what He wants to do in you and ask Him to make it happen by the power of His Spirit.

5)       Use Ps. 116, one of the “Hallel” Psalms prayed by Jesus at the Last Supper, to express your gratitude to the Lord for freeing you from sin through his death and for bestowing upon you his mind.

The most solemn time of the whole Christian year is from noon to 3:00 PM on Good Friday since that was the time of the Lord’s agony on the cross according to the Gospel of John.  During this time, we should strive to honor the death of the Lord in the most personal and heartfelt way possible.

1)       Meditate slowly and deeply upon Is. 52:13 through Is. 53:13.  This is the song of the Suffering Servant.

2)       Read Zech. 12:10 and respond with silent prayer of mourning and adoration.  You may want to make use of “the Jesus Prayer” which consists of the following petition repeated over and over: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

3)       In Jesus’ time, the way to refer to a Psalm was not by its number but by it’s first line.  Jesus’ cry from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” is the first line of Ps. 22.  Read the entire Psalm slowly as if the whole thing were Jesus’ prayer from the cross.

4)       Meditate on Heb. 9:11-28.  This scripture relates how Christ the High Priest, by the shedding of his own blood, enters the sanctuary once and for all.

5)       Read the selections from Melito and Ephrem found as a pdf download in the Holy Week/Triduum Library of www.dritaly.com.  Use the thanksgiving prayer on the same sheet to help you express gratitude for what the Lord did for us through his suffering and death.

Today is a day of waiting, a day of silence.  Most Christian churches allow no celebrations on this day, including burials, weddings, Eucharist or Lord’s Supper, etc.  In some churches, communion is only offered to those in imminent danger of death!  All this is a tremendous reminder of salvation by grace working through faith (waiting).  Our Christian life is completely dependent upon the Lord’s resurrection, but there is absolutely nothing we can do to make this happen.  So we wait and meditate on the statement of the Apostles Creed: “He descended into hell.”

1)       Ponder Ps. 16 and Ps. 24.  The “gates” mentioned in the latter psalm can refer to the “gates” of hell, which Jesus, the man with clean hands and pure heart, enters after his righteous death in order to liberate those who are held captive there.

2)      Meditate on Ro. 6:3-11.

The Resurrection of the Lord is too great of an event to celebrate for only one day!  Following the Jewish practice of celebrating the Passover for eight days (an “octave”), the early Church celebrated Easter in high gear for an entire week.  One great way for us to continue this tradition is to read a different resurrection Scripture each day of Easter week and attend the Eucharist daily, or at least on as many days during the Easter octave as we can.

|Mon.Mt. 28: 8-15 |Tues.Jn. 20: 11-18 |Wed.Lk. 24: 13-35| |Thurs.Lk. 24: 35-48 |Fri.Jn. 21: 1-14 |Sat.Mk. 16: 9-15| |Sun.Jn. 20: 19-31|