Reflections on Fr. Corapi's Statement

 

Father John Corapi announced today that, "I am not going to be involved in public ministry as a priest any longer."

He says he has been falsely accused, and perhaps he has been.  I neither know him nor his accuser well enough to make an informed judgment.  So let me make clear that I do not operate on the assumption he is guilty.  That would be a rash judgment on my part to do so.  For that matter, I do not operate on the assumption his accuser is lying – for the same reason.

Having been falsely accused myself (of something entirely different), I know the pain that an unjust accusation can cause a person, and how hard it can be to actually let go, no matter how badly you want to forgive.  So it is quite possible he is innocent and the embittered tone comes through pain.

Yet, even acknowledging this, his statement deeply troubles me.

If I understand him correctly, it seems he is unwilling to give up speaking and writing even though he is suspended from doing so as a priest.  He says, "Through writing and broadcasting we hope to continue to dispense truth and hope to a world so much in need of it."

Fr. Corapi seems determined to continue in speaking on topics as a private individual. As an American with freedom of speech, he has that right. The Church will not abduct him in the middle of the night.

However, his past authority is through his being an ordained priest speaking as a priest. Now, he signs off his statement with "John Corapi (once called “father,” now “The Black Sheep Dog”)." It seems he will essentially be one more voice in the blogosphere, with no more authority to his words than any other pundit.  His personal knowledge and holiness may serve him well in this task, but the fact remains he will be nothing more than one more man with an opinion.

Fr. Corapi writes:

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. My autobiography, “The Black Sheep Dog,” is almost ready for publication. My topics will be broader than in the past, and my audience likewise is apt to be broader. I’ll do what I can under the circumstances.

Father Corapi seems to have no faith in being vindicated in time, writing, "I cannot give a lengthy explanation of what has transpired, but I can tell you that the most likely outcome is that they leave me suspended indefinitely and just let me fade away."

Names like Padre Pio, Cardinal Henri de Lubac and Cardinal Yves Congar flit before my mind as I read his statement. These were priests who fell under suspicion and underwent years of hardship, being silenced before being ultimately cleared of the charges brought against them. Sometimes religious superiors seeking to "err on the side of caution" do in fact act imprudently at times – a sad consequence of original sin.

Yet Padre Pio, Cardinal de Lubac and Cardinal Congar submitted to the demands of their superiors and did not go and publicly announce a parting of ways and a continuing of a personal ministry.

Fr. Corapi is continuing on, as he says, and bearing no ill will towards the Church.  I certainly pray this is true.

However, his statement seems to be embittered… the writings of a man who feels betrayed and is trying to keep his anger under control as it eats away from within.

As I said above, I can relate to this, having been falsely accused before.

However, I know from this  experience that when the anger eats away at you from within, it will consume you if it is not mastered.  I also know I am too weak to master the anger.  It is only through prayer that peace can come.

Thus each day, I find it necessary to pray the Litany of Humility:

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should…

I do not know the state of Fr. Corapi's conscience.  Nor do I pretend to know his ultimate motives.  But I do pray that he act with patience and wisdom, and not from wrath.