BY NOW MOST OF YOU HAVE READ THE STATEMENT ISSUED TODAY BY THE LEADERSHIP OF THE SOCIETY OF OUR LADY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY ON THE CASE OF FATHER JOHN CORAPI.
The statement seems to me to be nothing more or less than an effort by the SOLT leadership to ‘throw Father John Corapi under the bus.’ Maybe he deserves it, maybe he does not, I do not know. I have had no direct contact with Father Corapi in many years. But it seems to me that the issuing of the statement is an effort by the SOLT leadership to justify their own mishandling of his case from the beginning. It is a classic example of what psychologists call transference.
As I have previously pointed out, Father Corapi was not charged, as far as I can figure out, with a civil crime. Nor was he accused of sexual misconduct with a minor. Rather, his conduct which resulted in the accusatory letter sent by the woman seems to have been fostered by the lax leadership of SOLT itself. Even though he did not have a vow of poverty he was given freedom to acquire and use wealth which can in itself have a corrupting influence on anyone.
MY CHIEF COMPLAINT AGAINST BOTH THE CHANCERY OF THE DIOCESE OF CORPUS CHRISTI AND THE LEADERSHIP OF SOLT IS THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE THE GOOD OF THE CHURCH IN MIND WHEN THEY ACTED PRECIPITOUSLY TO PUBLICLY SUSPEND FATHER CORAPI.
By rushing to publicly suspend him before any investigation of the facts had been done, these Church officials totally overlooked the impact of their actions on the tens of thousands of innocent people who have been brought into a closer relationship with Our Lord, Jesus Christ, through the TEACHING of Father Corapi. He did not seem to have any other form of ministry.
Instead of rushing to publicly suspend Father Corapi these people should have quietly launched an investigation into the accusations and, if they proved to be credible, they could have quietly removed him from active exercise of his public activities and then after further investigation determined whether or not to take more drastic canonical disciplinary action against him.
INSTEAD OF RUSHING TO PUNISH HIM PUBLICLY, they should have been concerned for the welfare of the thousands and thousands people who have either been brought to the faith or have had their faith strengthened by the man who, in spite of his having clay feet, had been an effective teacher of the Gospel.
THAT WAS MY CHIEF COMPLAINT AND THAT REMAINS MY CHIEF COMPLAINT.
I doubt that I will have much, if anything, further to say about the sad case of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity and Father John Corapi.
Link:
Related:
The statement seems to me to be nothing more or less than an effort by the SOLT leadership to ‘throw Father John Corapi under the bus.’ Maybe he deserves it, maybe he does not, I do not know. I have had no direct contact with Father Corapi in many years. But it seems to me that the issuing of the statement is an effort by the SOLT leadership to justify their own mishandling of his case from the beginning. It is a classic example of what psychologists call transference.As I have previously pointed out, Father Corapi was not charged, as far as I can figure out, with a civil crime. Nor was he accused of sexual misconduct with a minor. Rather, his conduct which resulted in the accusatory letter sent by the woman seems to have been fostered by the lax leadership of SOLT itself. Even though he did not have a vow of poverty he was given freedom to acquire and use wealth which can in itself have a corrupting influence on anyone.
MY CHIEF COMPLAINT AGAINST BOTH THE CHANCERY OF THE DIOCESE OF CORPUS CHRISTI AND THE LEADERSHIP OF SOLT IS THAT THEY DID NOT HAVE THE GOOD OF THE CHURCH IN MIND WHEN THEY ACTED PRECIPITOUSLY TO PUBLICLY SUSPEND FATHER CORAPI.
By rushing to publicly suspend him before any investigation of the facts had been done, these Church officials totally overlooked the impact of their actions on the tens of thousands of innocent people who have been brought into a closer relationship with Our Lord, Jesus Christ, through the TEACHING of Father Corapi. He did not seem to have any other form of ministry.
Instead of rushing to publicly suspend Father Corapi these people should have quietly launched an investigation into the accusations and, if they proved to be credible, they could have quietly removed him from active exercise of his public activities and then after further investigation determined whether or not to take more drastic canonical disciplinary action against him.
INSTEAD OF RUSHING TO PUNISH HIM PUBLICLY, they should have been concerned for the welfare of the thousands and thousands people who have either been brought to the faith or have had their faith strengthened by the man who, in spite of his having clay feet, had been an effective teacher of the Gospel.
THAT WAS MY CHIEF COMPLAINT AND THAT REMAINS MY CHIEF COMPLAINT.
I doubt that I will have much, if anything, further to say about the sad case of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity and Father John Corapi.
Link:
Related:
- A Few Thoughts on Father Corapi's Announcement yesterday - by Bishop Rene Henry Gracida, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Corpus Christi
- Fr. Corapi Filed Defamation Suit On Advice of Fr. Flanagan, Founder of the Society of Our Lady and Bishop Rene Gracida
- Of Fr. Corapi and Casey Anthony - Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
- Father Corapi Files Lawsuit Against His Accuser
- Father Corapi: "I am not seeking laicization"
- Corpus Christi Procession goes by the wayside in Corpus Christi
- Fr. Corapi: Please Understand This, I Have Not Left The Church
- Michael Voris of the Vortex on the Professional Catholic Bloggers (transcript)
- Fr. Corapi: I am listening.. I will not be releasing those audio tapes.
- Tuesday morning.
- Valuable Canonical Insight Into the Case of Father John Corapi - by Fr. Mike via Bishop Gracida
- Good-Bye, Good Priest! Father John Corapi’s Kafkaesque Catch-22 - by
- Reconsidering the Dallas Charter - Fr. Michael P. Orsi
- About Fr. John Corapi With Observations About Our Times - by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
- Carol McKinley on Falsely Accused Priests
- Father Corapi: God Love You, God Bless You, and Good-Bye
2 comments:
Abp. Gracida is right to speak of SOLT's leniency and how mistaken it was.
He says the superiors are trying to "throw [Corapi] under the bus": that is, to sacrifice him to protect themselves. This charge by the Archbishop emeritus doesn't seem to be really well thought out.
To "throw [someone] under the bus" is to blame an unimportant person and sacrifice him, so as to distract attention from one's own greater failings.
But that is not how it works. When SOLT announces that Corapi committed some misdeed, they are not deflecting attention from SOLT mistakes; they are implicitly drawing attention to those mistakes.
So the self-protective motive which Abp. Gracida attributes to SOLT doesn't make sense.
Moreover, it is hard for me to believe that SOLT's leniency toward Corapi is a worse failing than the misconduct itself which is reputed to him.
I don't think this is over yet...
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