Today was a sad day for any Catholic whose faith has ever been bolstered by the teachings of Father John Corapi. Today, he announced that he is resigning from the priesthood and pursuing private ministry. He will continue to speak, to write, and to influence others but he states that his topics will be broader and likely his audience as well. He does this, he says, because there is no way to prove his innocence and he will not continue to fight against the Church's decision to suspend him from the priesthood.
Like many, I have followed this story from the beginning. At first, I was absolutely shocked. Then, as more information surfaced, I decided to take a wait-and-see approach. After all, I do not know all of the facts. I was not involved, and it would be wrong to accuse him of misconduct on the basis of the little information that I did have. On the other hand, it would not surprise me if he had fallen into sin. He is human, and as such faces temptation just as anyone else does.
There is one portion of his video that I do disagree with greatly. He states that the only hope of having his name cleared would be an accident. I think this shows some lack of faith in God's promises. God has promised that He will clear the name of the innocent and shed light on the wrongdoings of the wicked. This is something the Black Sheep Dog should know very well, as he spoke about the time in the seminary when he was prevented from continuing on false grounds but later, against the odds, was accepted in to another seminary because that is where God wanted him to be at that time.
I do not pretend to know the truth of the situation at hand, but I do know that God works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. The Black Sheep Dog should try to remember this, and take consolation in the fact that the truth is known by Christ if by no one else. Christ, too, was falsely accused but endured his accusation in silence until God vindicated Him. This false accusation, if that is what it is, may very well be the best thing to ever happen to our Black Sheep Dog in the end.
I will sorely miss Father Corapi. He was a big influence on me, and I know that he was on my mother and my husband, too. But, as I have said before and will say again, the Catholic Church is not a cult of personality. I love the Church no matter how many sinners she has in her midst and I love her whether anyone else does or not. If Father John must become, as he calls himself, the Black Sheep Dog instead of Father, I may grieve over the loss but it does not weaken my faith in the Church one iota.
Like many, I have followed this story from the beginning. At first, I was absolutely shocked. Then, as more information surfaced, I decided to take a wait-and-see approach. After all, I do not know all of the facts. I was not involved, and it would be wrong to accuse him of misconduct on the basis of the little information that I did have. On the other hand, it would not surprise me if he had fallen into sin. He is human, and as such faces temptation just as anyone else does.
There is one portion of his video that I do disagree with greatly. He states that the only hope of having his name cleared would be an accident. I think this shows some lack of faith in God's promises. God has promised that He will clear the name of the innocent and shed light on the wrongdoings of the wicked. This is something the Black Sheep Dog should know very well, as he spoke about the time in the seminary when he was prevented from continuing on false grounds but later, against the odds, was accepted in to another seminary because that is where God wanted him to be at that time.
I do not pretend to know the truth of the situation at hand, but I do know that God works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. The Black Sheep Dog should try to remember this, and take consolation in the fact that the truth is known by Christ if by no one else. Christ, too, was falsely accused but endured his accusation in silence until God vindicated Him. This false accusation, if that is what it is, may very well be the best thing to ever happen to our Black Sheep Dog in the end.
I will sorely miss Father Corapi. He was a big influence on me, and I know that he was on my mother and my husband, too. But, as I have said before and will say again, the Catholic Church is not a cult of personality. I love the Church no matter how many sinners she has in her midst and I love her whether anyone else does or not. If Father John must become, as he calls himself, the Black Sheep Dog instead of Father, I may grieve over the loss but it does not weaken my faith in the Church one iota.
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