Fr. John Zulsdorf has the appropriate reaction. Read it here.
Some have been dog piling on him, since the video announcement released is ... weird to say the least. I'd be frustrated too if my entire life's mission was put to a halt - possibly unjustly. His entire personal identity is a Catholic priest, and that has been taken from him, practically speaking.... a tough pill for any man to swallow.
God doesn't give everyone heroic virtue to respond perfectly to crisis. I can't say I would respond any better in the same situation.
8 comments:
Three things:
1) He is walking away from fatherhood - his VOCATION - in preference to "HIS mission". I know your wife would give you a roundhouse kick to the face if you ever tried to, say, give up your family for your blog.
2) His new blog creeps me out. Don't think I'll be following that one.
3) The devil knows where to tempt people. We have to be able to learn from this situation and apply it in our own lives, lest we fall into the same traps. This is not passing judgment. It is looking at things realistically.
Well under suspension he cannot function as a priests if my understanding is correct and he suspended indefinitely. Maybe he's invoking "emergency" faculties ala SSPX? Joking!
Don't get me wrong, I am definitely creeped out as well.
The whole thing has been weird from the beginning. Ben and I were up last night talking about all the legal and canonical issues involved. The way Corapi has expressed his understanding of the process makes us think that his "legal team" is not very competent, either that or he has taken it upon himself to interpret law in such a way that he comes out as the absolute victim.
Suspension is one thing. Removal of faculties is another. Neither one would prevent him from saying Mass privately. He is throwing in the towel after only three months of investigation. The whole thing makes me feel icky, and not really towards the Church (though you and I both know that there are irriatants within). It seems that Corapi is demonstrating his own flaws at an exponential rate.
There's more at the Register. Evidently Corapi made all his employees sign a "non-disclosure" agreement which includes ALL matters they worked on/discussed while in his employ. Makes it tough for civil AND canonical lawyers to get testimony.
Also: the head of the Order (SOLT) told Corapi to give up his Kalispell ranch and return to the Order's main house in California. Corapi refused.
Well..........
CC: I don't think he said he is not saying Mass privately; only that he cannot speak publicly "as a priest." Hence Pater removal.
Dad29: I also thought it interesting that the former bishop of Corpus Christi came out strongly supporting Corapi...
He's not a saint so I don't expect him to act like one. He's just a man doing what he thinks is best.
Wow, I must live under a rock;)
I hadn't heard/read about this until today.
Strange, indeed...good points made - all around.
”God doesn't give everyone heroic virtue to respond perfectly to crisis. I can't say I would respond any better in the same situation.”
Well said Badger – and one of the most charitable comments I’ve seen on this situation! I have been disgusted by the invective hurled at this man for his decision – by smug bloggers and commenters. “Kicking a man when he is down”, comes to mind. I don’t know him, never heard him speak, or read anything by him - so I have no dog in this fight, as it were.
But it has bothered me for some time how priests are treated when an accusation is made against them. They are left defenseless. I can understand ‘administrative leave’ but there is always the implication of guilt and a priest has to prove his innocence. ‘Guilty until proven innocent’ appears to be the norm in contradiction of all we believe in the civil arena.
Even if the allegation is proved false, the stigma remains for the rest of the priest’s life and he never fully recovers his good name. That is the travesty with the system and priests live in fear of a false accusation which can ruin their life and ministry. Comparisons with Padre Pio and comments about ‘carrying one’s cross’ have the ring of “holier than thou” about them.
Priests are human and have feet of clay like the rest of us. Who among us would claim to be carrying our own crosses perfectly?
I have read about Fr. Corapi at three different Catholic blogs. I know nothing else about him. I have yet to see any clear evidence that he is guilty of anything. As a disciple of due process, I sympathize with what he seems to be saying. I haven't seen anything which clearly establishes that he is innocent either.
Whenever there is a flagrant scandal, a reaction sets in that in order to compensate for past inattention, all institutions of society must presume guilt until innocence is proven. It is possible, although not established, that Fr. Corapi is a victim of such a reaction. Some priests are known to have been pedophiles, or to break their vows of chastity in other ways. It remains fairly easy for a false accusation to be made, as well as a true one.
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