By Matt C. Abbott
(RenewAmerica) I very recently asked Bishop Rene Henry Gracida, bishop emeritus of Corpus Christi, Texas, the following question:
Would you say that this pontificate [of Pope Francis] has thus far been more heterodox and confusing than orthodox and edifying?
Bishop Gracida's answer:
Yes!
He added:
Most Catholics are unaware that there have been instances in Church
history when a pope either taught heresy, or failed in his duty to
suppress heresy. And if it happened before, it can happen again.
For example: Pope Nicholas I said that baptism was valid whether
administered in the name of the Three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity
or in the name of Christ only. In this Pope Nicholas was mistaken.
Baptism in the name of Christ only is not valid.
Pope Honorius, in order to justify a compromise with heretics, said in
634: 'We must be careful not to rekindle ancient quarrels.' On this
argument, the pope allowed error to spread freely, with the result that
truth and orthodoxy were effectively banished.
St. Sophronius of Jerusalem, almost alone, stood up to Pope Honorius and
accused him of heresy. Eventually the pope repented, but died without
repairing the immeasurable harm he did to the Church due to his
compromising principle. Thus, the Third Council of Constantinople cast
its anathema upon him, and this was confirmed by Pope St. Leo II... (continued)
Link:
Showing posts with label Bishop Rene Henry Gracida. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bishop Rene Henry Gracida. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Glory Be To God For Dappled Things
Vermilion Fly Catcher
I love all God’s creatures! Well, possibly with the exception of spiders and feral hogs; although I must admit that the little piglets are cute.
I started the duck pond in 1997. It is small, about 50 feet in diameter. Water trickles into it by gravity flow from my well water storage tank; just enough flow to compensate for evaporation. I built a fence around it to keep animals out, but, of course, the fence does not prevent owls and hawks from predation.
I started with four pair of Mallard ducklings I ordered from a hatchery. Over the course of that first year one by one winged predators took their toll. Finally I was left with only one male duck. He hung around for several months and then one day he disappeared and I assumed that a hawk or an owl had taken him also.
But I was wrong! He was gone about a month and then one day he reappeared with a wild female companion. The pair seemed happily in permanent residence on the pond. And then one day the male disappeared. I can only assume that an owl or a hawk took him. Then, even more amazing, the wild female remained on the pond even without a mate.
After a month of expecting the wild female to fly away I decided to buy her a mate. I located a man who had ducks and I bought a domesticated male Mallard and introduced him to the pond.
I am happy to report that they produced eleven little ducklings and now there are 13 Mallards. In addition, from time to time Teel, Black-bellied Mexican Whistling ducks and Coot drop in for a visit and stay for weeks at a time.
GLORY be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.
- Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89). Poems. 1918.
Pied Beauty
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Father Gordon MacRae and the Gospel of Mercy
By Ryan A. MacDonald
Two persons, a New Hampshire attorney and a former television news producer, have attested under oath that in 2000 Bishop McCormack told them of his belief that Father MacRae is innocent of the claims for which he is in prison, then demanded secrecy, saying, "None of this can ever leave this room..."
Now here we are some nine years and over two billion dollars later, and the failures of our spiritual leaders are now compounded by a failure of mercy, a failure to live courageously the mandate of the Gospel of Mercy. In a defensive missive to Rome, Bishop McCormack wrote that he and the diocese would risk public ridicule if they helped Father Gordon MacRae. So be it. If bishops and priests are so prepared to abandon their own, what hope is there in the Church for any of us? (continued...)
h/t to Bishop Rene Henry Gracida
Link:
Related:
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Re: Father Corapi - SOLT independent fact-finding team must have missed this stuff…
From Ex-Couchthedra:
"N.B.: I am relying on entirely public sources and internet sleuthing, the links to which I have been assiduously keeping and the really relevant ones appear below. I am unconnected with either party in any way.h/t to Bishop Rene Henry Gracida
I did some googling around, ran across some curious factoids (which haven’t made it to any of the mainstream Catholic sources):............"
Friday, July 8, 2011
Corapi Maintains His Innocence, Claims Certain Church Authorities Wanted Him Gone
By Brian Fraga - OSV Newsweekly
Father John Corapi says only he knows “the real story” behind his controversial decision to leave the priesthood.
Father Corapi announced June 17 that he was leaving the priesthood and the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) because he could not get a “fair hearing” on the sexual misconduct allegations lodged against him in March by a former female employee of his Montana-based Santa Cruz Media Company.
The popular preacher and public speaker also said “certain persons in authority in the Church” wanted him gone, said that his due process rights were violated, and accused Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas, where SOLT’s headquarters is located, of ordering his SOLT superiors to suspend him “against their will and better judgment” or else he would publicly release the letter his accuser had sent to several bishops detailing the allegations against him.
Normal procedure
Marty Wind, spokesman for the Diocese of Corpus Christi, declined to respond to Father Corapi’s statement. Wind told Our Sunday Visitor that the bishop was following canon law when he advised the SOLT that an investigation had to be conducted in accordance with the order’s constitutions.
The Diocese of Corpus Christi also released a statement that said “it would be inappropriate for the diocese to make any comment on those proceedings other than that they were in progress and were being guided by the SOLT Constitution and in accord with the Code of Canon Law.”
Father Gerard Sheehan, the SOLT regional priest servant, issued a prepared statement explaining that it was “normal procedure” that Father Corapi be suspended from active ministry and placed on administrative leave, due to the nature of the allegations.
Father Sheehan said the investigation was still ongoing when Father Corapi told the order on June 3 that he could no longer function as a priest or a member of SOLT because of “the physical, emotional and spiritual distress he has endured over the past few years.” That effectively halted the investigation, which had not reached a conclusion on the credibility of the case.
“If the allegations had been found to be credible, the proper canonical due process would have been offered to Father Corapi, including his right to defense, to know his accuser and the complaint lodged and a fair canonical trial with the right of recourse to the Holy See,” said Father Sheehan, who added that the SOLT was “deeply saddened” by Father Corapi’s response to the allegations.
“The SOLT will do all within its power to assist Father Corapi if he desires to seek a dispensation from his rights and obligations as a priest and as a professed member of the SOLT,” Father Sheehan said.
Father Corapi may have also complicated SOLT’s investigation against him. The National Catholic Register reported he sued his accuser for breaching a non-disclosure agreement. Other Santa Cruz Media Company employees reportedly signed similar agreements, which prevented SOLT investigators from interviewing the principal witnesses in the case.
Messages left for Father Sheehan at SOLT’s international headquarters in Robeson, Texas, were not returned.
No one answered multiple telephone calls to Santa Cruz Media Company. Bobbi Ruffatto, the former vice president of operations for Santa Cruz Media, released a statement in late March defending Father Corapi. Contacted last month by OSV, Ruffatto said she resigned from the company on May 31.
“I am deeply saddened by the situation but cannot comment further,” Ruffatto told OSV.
David Clohessy, the national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, told OSV that Father Corapi’s accuser — whom neither the priest nor Church investigators have named — reached out to the victim’s group recently and he judged her complaint credible.
“She, even now, refuses to publicly lash out at Corapi,” Clohessy added.
Father Corapi said on his “Black SheepDog” blog that he had filed a civil defamation lawsuit against his accuser on the advice of the founder of SOLT, Father James Flanagan, and retired Bishop Rene Gracida of Corpus Christi.
“Why would they do this? Because they felt it was the only way I could receive a fair and just hearing,” wrote Father Corapi. He could not be reached for comment by OSV. Father Flanagan also could not be reached. Bishop Gracida did not reply to an email message seeking comment.
In Corapi’s corner
On his blog, Bishop Gracida defended Father Corapi and has posted several links to articles suggesting that accused priests have little protection in the way of due process.
“I believe that [Father Corapi] is justified in not seeking to clear his name through a canonical process; at the present time such processes are very flawed in most dioceses,” Bishop Gracida said.
Father Gordon J. MacRae, a priest who maintains his innocence but is still serving a life sentence for a 1994 conviction of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in New Hampshire, wrote June 22 on his “These Stone Walls” blog that Father Corapi was the victim of a classic “Catch-22.”
Father MacRae wrote: “If [Father Corapi] is to defend himself at all, he must be able to do so publicly with statements that clearly and decisively refute what is claimed of him. That is not only his right under both the U.S. Constitution and Canon Law, it is also what Catholics expect of him.
“But if Father Corapi is barred from presenting himself publicly as a priest, then he is effectively barred from presenting himself publicly at all,” he wrote. “Does anyone really expect him to treat the accusations against him as unconnected to the fact that he is a priest?”
Preventive measures
Father Francis “Rocky” Hoffman, executive director of Relevant Radio, said in a March 24 statement that Canon Law, under Canon 1722, provides a bishop or superior recourse to a “leave of absence” in order to prevent scandal, protect the freedom of witnesses and safeguard the course of justice. A canon commentary says the measure is preventive and prudential, not penal.
“This distinction, not penal but preventive and prudential, is very important for the current discussion about this issue,” Father Hoffman said. “Many consider this administrative leave to be a declaration of guilt without investigation and to be penal in nature.
“While the principle ‘innocent until proven guilty’ still holds in canon law, it would be a mistake to hold that any cleric ever has a right to exercise the public ministry without his bishop/superior’s express permission, which can be withdrawn for prudential reasons,” Father Hoffman wrote.
“I think there is due process, though it may not be the same as what we Americans would like it to be,” said J. Michael Ritty, a canon lawyer and chief partner at Canon Law Professionals in Feura Bush, N.Y.
Ritty told OSV that priests accused of sexual impropriety with adults have the right to a canon lawyer, can make a preliminary statement when the allegations are first made against them, and have the opportunity to present their case to a review board, which recommends a course of action for the bishop or superior. The accused priest also has the right to an appeal.
Father Corapi continues to maintain his innocence and to attack the “bishop’s star witness” against him as “a severely troubled person.”
On a June 23 blog, the soon-to-be Mr. Corapi promised that he had not left the Church, even as he said that its leadership doesn’t want him around anymore. He also added that he has trademarked “Black SheepDog,” and that a biography of the same title has been in the works for a year and a half.
Quote
Every time someone gets angry with me or decides they want a payday I have to go through hell with no help from the leadership of the Church. I admit I have grown weary of that."
— Father John Corapi, who now uses the moniker “The Black SheepDog.” For more information, visit his blog at www.theblacksheepdog.us
Link:
Related:
Father John Corapi says only he knows “the real story” behind his controversial decision to leave the priesthood.
Father Corapi announced June 17 that he was leaving the priesthood and the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) because he could not get a “fair hearing” on the sexual misconduct allegations lodged against him in March by a former female employee of his Montana-based Santa Cruz Media Company.
The popular preacher and public speaker also said “certain persons in authority in the Church” wanted him gone, said that his due process rights were violated, and accused Bishop Wm. Michael Mulvey of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas, where SOLT’s headquarters is located, of ordering his SOLT superiors to suspend him “against their will and better judgment” or else he would publicly release the letter his accuser had sent to several bishops detailing the allegations against him.
Normal procedure
Marty Wind, spokesman for the Diocese of Corpus Christi, declined to respond to Father Corapi’s statement. Wind told Our Sunday Visitor that the bishop was following canon law when he advised the SOLT that an investigation had to be conducted in accordance with the order’s constitutions.
The Diocese of Corpus Christi also released a statement that said “it would be inappropriate for the diocese to make any comment on those proceedings other than that they were in progress and were being guided by the SOLT Constitution and in accord with the Code of Canon Law.”
Father Gerard Sheehan, the SOLT regional priest servant, issued a prepared statement explaining that it was “normal procedure” that Father Corapi be suspended from active ministry and placed on administrative leave, due to the nature of the allegations.
Father Sheehan said the investigation was still ongoing when Father Corapi told the order on June 3 that he could no longer function as a priest or a member of SOLT because of “the physical, emotional and spiritual distress he has endured over the past few years.” That effectively halted the investigation, which had not reached a conclusion on the credibility of the case.
“If the allegations had been found to be credible, the proper canonical due process would have been offered to Father Corapi, including his right to defense, to know his accuser and the complaint lodged and a fair canonical trial with the right of recourse to the Holy See,” said Father Sheehan, who added that the SOLT was “deeply saddened” by Father Corapi’s response to the allegations.
“The SOLT will do all within its power to assist Father Corapi if he desires to seek a dispensation from his rights and obligations as a priest and as a professed member of the SOLT,” Father Sheehan said.
Father Corapi may have also complicated SOLT’s investigation against him. The National Catholic Register reported he sued his accuser for breaching a non-disclosure agreement. Other Santa Cruz Media Company employees reportedly signed similar agreements, which prevented SOLT investigators from interviewing the principal witnesses in the case.
Messages left for Father Sheehan at SOLT’s international headquarters in Robeson, Texas, were not returned.
No one answered multiple telephone calls to Santa Cruz Media Company. Bobbi Ruffatto, the former vice president of operations for Santa Cruz Media, released a statement in late March defending Father Corapi. Contacted last month by OSV, Ruffatto said she resigned from the company on May 31.
“I am deeply saddened by the situation but cannot comment further,” Ruffatto told OSV.
David Clohessy, the national director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, told OSV that Father Corapi’s accuser — whom neither the priest nor Church investigators have named — reached out to the victim’s group recently and he judged her complaint credible.
“She, even now, refuses to publicly lash out at Corapi,” Clohessy added.
Father Corapi said on his “Black SheepDog” blog that he had filed a civil defamation lawsuit against his accuser on the advice of the founder of SOLT, Father James Flanagan, and retired Bishop Rene Gracida of Corpus Christi.
“Why would they do this? Because they felt it was the only way I could receive a fair and just hearing,” wrote Father Corapi. He could not be reached for comment by OSV. Father Flanagan also could not be reached. Bishop Gracida did not reply to an email message seeking comment.
In Corapi’s corner
On his blog, Bishop Gracida defended Father Corapi and has posted several links to articles suggesting that accused priests have little protection in the way of due process.
“I believe that [Father Corapi] is justified in not seeking to clear his name through a canonical process; at the present time such processes are very flawed in most dioceses,” Bishop Gracida said.
Father Gordon J. MacRae, a priest who maintains his innocence but is still serving a life sentence for a 1994 conviction of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in New Hampshire, wrote June 22 on his “These Stone Walls” blog that Father Corapi was the victim of a classic “Catch-22.”
Father MacRae wrote: “If [Father Corapi] is to defend himself at all, he must be able to do so publicly with statements that clearly and decisively refute what is claimed of him. That is not only his right under both the U.S. Constitution and Canon Law, it is also what Catholics expect of him.
“But if Father Corapi is barred from presenting himself publicly as a priest, then he is effectively barred from presenting himself publicly at all,” he wrote. “Does anyone really expect him to treat the accusations against him as unconnected to the fact that he is a priest?”
Preventive measures
Father Francis “Rocky” Hoffman, executive director of Relevant Radio, said in a March 24 statement that Canon Law, under Canon 1722, provides a bishop or superior recourse to a “leave of absence” in order to prevent scandal, protect the freedom of witnesses and safeguard the course of justice. A canon commentary says the measure is preventive and prudential, not penal.
“This distinction, not penal but preventive and prudential, is very important for the current discussion about this issue,” Father Hoffman said. “Many consider this administrative leave to be a declaration of guilt without investigation and to be penal in nature.
“While the principle ‘innocent until proven guilty’ still holds in canon law, it would be a mistake to hold that any cleric ever has a right to exercise the public ministry without his bishop/superior’s express permission, which can be withdrawn for prudential reasons,” Father Hoffman wrote.
“I think there is due process, though it may not be the same as what we Americans would like it to be,” said J. Michael Ritty, a canon lawyer and chief partner at Canon Law Professionals in Feura Bush, N.Y.
Ritty told OSV that priests accused of sexual impropriety with adults have the right to a canon lawyer, can make a preliminary statement when the allegations are first made against them, and have the opportunity to present their case to a review board, which recommends a course of action for the bishop or superior. The accused priest also has the right to an appeal.
Father Corapi continues to maintain his innocence and to attack the “bishop’s star witness” against him as “a severely troubled person.”
On a June 23 blog, the soon-to-be Mr. Corapi promised that he had not left the Church, even as he said that its leadership doesn’t want him around anymore. He also added that he has trademarked “Black SheepDog,” and that a biography of the same title has been in the works for a year and a half.
Brian Fraga writes from Massachusetts.
Quote
Every time someone gets angry with me or decides they want a payday I have to go through hell with no help from the leadership of the Church. I admit I have grown weary of that."
— Father John Corapi, who now uses the moniker “The Black SheepDog.” For more information, visit his blog at www.theblacksheepdog.us
Link:
Related:
- Father Corapi's Response to SOLT's Press Release
- My Final Comment (Hopefully) on the Case of Father John Corapi - by Bishop Rene Henry Gracida, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Corpus Christi
- 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
- 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
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Bishop Gracida - SOLT Statement Effort to ‘Throw Father John Corapi Under the Bus’
By Bishop Rene Henry Gracida
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
Monday, June 20, 2011
Thoughts on Father Corapi by the Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi
Great Pyrenees Sheep Dog Guarding the Flock
FIRST OF ALL LET ME ESTABLISH THAT I HAVE NOT SPOKEN WITH FATHER CORAPI.
The fact that he has chosen the nom de plume of The Black Sheep Dog is revealing: he cares for the flock of sheep he has been ministering to all these years, sheep that he well knows are of the Lord’s flock, not his.As a suspended priest he cannot function publicly as a priest, but he can continue to evangelize as long as he does not present himself to the public as a priest.
Every baptized person is given the obligation of being a witness to the truth, of being an evangelizer. In Father Corapi’s case, the obligation is all the greater in view of the gift of the sacramental priesthood he has been given. Prevented (hopefully only temporarily) from exercising that priesthood in a public manner during his suspension, he is aware of his obligation to be a witness to the truth and to continue to evangelize. He evidently intends to do so until his suspension is lifted not as Father John Corapi but as The Black Sheep Dog.
As a good sheep dog he will continue to try to protect the flock from the dangers of heresy, heterodoxy, and all other forms of untruth.
I think it is a stroke of genius that he chose the image of the sheep dog’s eyes for his blog’s masthead. I have a ranch. I have sheep. I have two wonderful sheep dogs, one a Great Pyrenees and the other an Anatolian Shepherd. I know that they are constantly on the alert for dangers threatening the sheep. They look with one eye for coyotes (we do not have wolves in South Texas) and they constantly keep one eye on the sheep. His avatar is perfect for the role he intends to perform as a shepherd.
Now, until his suspension is lifted, he is free from the Church’s prohibition on clerics participating in the political life of the nation. Given his past outspoken criticism of the current slide of our government to become more and more like the socialist governments of Europe, I think that we can expect to hear The Black Sheep Dog speak out more openly on the burning issues we will face in the election year of 2012. I know from my own experience that God sometimes “writes straight with crooked lines” as the Portuguese put it, and so perhaps God is using this new (unwanted) freedom from ecclesiastical restraint to permit The Black Sheep Dog to say some important things in the next 16 months on those burning issues.
I believe that he is justified in not seeking to clear his name through a canonical process; at the present time such processes are very flawed in most dioceses. Rather I would like to believe that he intends to try to clear his name through the civil courts. Since I believe that his accuser is a former manager of his media company who he terminated with some kind termination agreement, and since she has evidently sought revenge for her termination by writing to the Bishop of Corpus Christi denouncing Father John, I believe that it is possible for him to do so and I wish him every success in such an endeavor. The basis for his lawsuit would probably be defamation of character, libel, extortion, breech of contract, or whatever.
Reading some of the comments on his blog I am appalled at the viciousness of some of them. It is obvious that there is very little if any love in the hearts of some of the writers. It is almost as though some of those writers are filled with hatred for the Catholic Church and/or its priests. It is possible to disagree about almost anything without resorting to ad hominem personal attacks.
What many of these hostile commentators seem to be unaware of is the fact that Father John Corapi does not belong to a religious order or congregation. He belongs to a Society of Apostolic Life. He is not a priest of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, he is incardinated in the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, a diocesan Society of Apostolic life that I established in the Diocese of Corpus Christi when I was the Ordinary of the Diocese. He has never held an assignment in the Diocese nor has he ever worked in the Diocese. Following his ordination in Rome in 1991 by Blessed Pope John Paul II he has ministered in many places, but not in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. With the permission of his superiors he established his media company in Montana and has lived there ever since. As a member of that Society (The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity) Father John is not bound by a vow of poverty. He is bound by a promise of obedience to his superior, the General Priest Servant of the Society.
These are just a few thoughts on Father John Corapi’s announcement yesterday.
Link:
Related:
- Bishop Gracida - SOLT Statement Effort to ‘Throw Father John Corapi Under the Bus’
- Fr. Corapi Filed Defamation Suit On Advice of Fr. Flanagan, Founder of the Society of Our Lady and Bishop Rene Gracida
- Valuable Canonical Insight Into the Case of Father John Corapi - by Fr. Mike via Bishop Gracida
- About Fr. John Corapi With Observations About Our Times
- 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)
- Good-Bye, Good Priest! Father John Corapi’s Kafkaesque Catch-22 - by
- Father Corapi: God Love You, God Bless You, and Good-Bye
- IT IS A MATTER OF JUSTICE! - Rene Henry Gracida, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Corpus Christi
Friday, April 1, 2011
Bishop Rene Henry Gracida Comments on Father Corapi Accusations
Bishop Rene Henry Gracida, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, comments on the accusations against Father Corapi at his blog Abyssus Abyssum Invocat:
IT IS A MATTER OF JUSTICE, THE DISCIPLINING OF PRIESTS ACCUSED OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT WITH AN ADULT, BUT UNFORTUNATELY GRAVE INJUSTICE IS FREQUENTLY DONE TO INDIVIDUAL PRIESTS AND TO THE CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD BY INDIVIDUAL BISHOPS AND RELIGIOUS SUPERIORS.
The public controversy over the announcement of the accusations against Father John Corapi, SOLT, and his suspension from exercising his priestly ministry offers an opportunity to reflect on the flawed procedure apparently being followed in too many dioceses of the United States these days in the case of a priest accused of sexual misconduct not involving minors. The procedure is flawed because it inflicts grave injustice on the priest and serves as a deterrent to young men thinking of offering themselves as candidates for the priesthood.
The procedure operates something like this. A person accuses a priest of sexual misconduct (again, not involving a minor). The priest is immediately suspended from active exercise of his priestly ministry while an investigation is launched into the truth or falsity of the accusations.
There is no need for a public announcement to be made that gives the name of the priest and the fact of the accusation and the suspension, and yet, all to often such a public announcement is made. Such public announcement by a diocese almost always results in media exploitation of the news in a sensational manner to the detriment of the Catholic Church and its priesthood. It seems that rarely, if ever, is mention is made in the announcement of the name of the accuser.
The investigation may take days or months or years to complete. In the meantime the priest’s reputation is effectively destroyed and perhaps he is ‘thrown out on the street’ with no means of support. The accuser, on the other hand, enjoys anonymity and suffers no loss of reputation or negative material consequences and in the case of an accusation later proven to have been false the injustice to priest is great.
In cases where the priest is accused of having used force (rape or some other form of involuntary abuse) there is some justification for not publishing the name of the accuser. But, where there is reason to believe that the alleged sexual misconduct was effected through mutual consent there is no justification for not publishing the name of the accuser.
Under the present procedure it is too easy for a person to allege sexual misconduct (again not involving minors) for a variety of possible unworthy motives: revenge, hope for monetary gain, hostility to the Catholic Faith, etc. Such is reported to have been the case of the accusation against Father Corapi. The only safe way to guard against damaging the reputation of individual priests and the Catholic priesthood in general is to not publish the name of an accused priest until an investigation has proved beyond doubt the guilt of the priest.
IT IS A MATTER OF JUSTICE, THE DISCIPLINING OF PRIESTS ACCUSED OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT WITH AN ADULT, BUT UNFORTUNATELY GRAVE INJUSTICE IS FREQUENTLY DONE TO INDIVIDUAL PRIESTS AND TO THE CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD BY INDIVIDUAL BISHOPS AND RELIGIOUS SUPERIORS.
The public controversy over the announcement of the accusations against Father John Corapi, SOLT, and his suspension from exercising his priestly ministry offers an opportunity to reflect on the flawed procedure apparently being followed in too many dioceses of the United States these days in the case of a priest accused of sexual misconduct not involving minors. The procedure is flawed because it inflicts grave injustice on the priest and serves as a deterrent to young men thinking of offering themselves as candidates for the priesthood.The procedure operates something like this. A person accuses a priest of sexual misconduct (again, not involving a minor). The priest is immediately suspended from active exercise of his priestly ministry while an investigation is launched into the truth or falsity of the accusations.
There is no need for a public announcement to be made that gives the name of the priest and the fact of the accusation and the suspension, and yet, all to often such a public announcement is made. Such public announcement by a diocese almost always results in media exploitation of the news in a sensational manner to the detriment of the Catholic Church and its priesthood. It seems that rarely, if ever, is mention is made in the announcement of the name of the accuser.
The investigation may take days or months or years to complete. In the meantime the priest’s reputation is effectively destroyed and perhaps he is ‘thrown out on the street’ with no means of support. The accuser, on the other hand, enjoys anonymity and suffers no loss of reputation or negative material consequences and in the case of an accusation later proven to have been false the injustice to priest is great.
In cases where the priest is accused of having used force (rape or some other form of involuntary abuse) there is some justification for not publishing the name of the accuser. But, where there is reason to believe that the alleged sexual misconduct was effected through mutual consent there is no justification for not publishing the name of the accuser.
Under the present procedure it is too easy for a person to allege sexual misconduct (again not involving minors) for a variety of possible unworthy motives: revenge, hope for monetary gain, hostility to the Catholic Faith, etc. Such is reported to have been the case of the accusation against Father Corapi. The only safe way to guard against damaging the reputation of individual priests and the Catholic priesthood in general is to not publish the name of an accused priest until an investigation has proved beyond doubt the guilt of the priest.
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