Danielle,
I have to side with your fellow online reporter Mark Shea. It all looks to me so strange in the most freaky of ways. I in the beginning prayed for guidance on all the information if any at times on the Father Corapi accusations. And what saddens me about this news today is that we already have a huge challenge in our Catholic faith today, with the pedophilia cases in the past few years in the media, and now this issue with Father Corapi.
It sounds to me as the above comment from Mary Kate said, that it does all sound like a propaganda to start a new order or new ministry for as to make money and start advertising his new book that will be coming out, along with a planned out to leave the ministry at the approximate date of Father’s Day. Makes me sad and angry, and so very disappointed. I will as I know many who have listened to Father Corapi’s sermons, online on EWTN or on video will be following this story closely to draw a better conclusion. I only hope that through this entire saga, that we learn and also grow closer to our Catholic faith. I totally agree that this definitely will hurt the Catholic Church. I pray we have the higher-ups in the Vatican give their opinions and spiritual direction who are and will follow Father(or now Mr. Corapi) =( God bless. p.s. Thank you again Danielle for adding this to the Faith and Family Live site. blessings to you and your family on Father’s Day!

Can he return to the priesthood at some point or is this a final decision? I’m sickened by this and the name he chose to go by is nothing short of strange.  What in the world is going on?! We need to pray even more for Fr. Corapi.

This is so sad. I credit The Blessed Mother and Fr. Corapi with my reversion to the Church.
Perhaps it will cause the bishops to revise some of their policies on accused priests.

I read the printout of Father’s speech and it didn’t sound too bad.  I think it is a different situation than St. Padre Pio.  It doesn’t seem like our Church and Bishops are coming to the aid of any of the innocent priests that have been charged without evidence.  We need the bad ones gone, but not the good ones who are caught up in this evil business.  We all know that satan would love to be rid of Fr. Corapi.  If he feels that at his age it is better to leave the priesthood and still fight on as a layman, maybe he is right.  We will just have to make sure that he continues to stay strong in the true Catholic faith and correct him immediately if he drifts off course.  God bless him.  It is strange times we are living in and we need lots of prayers for our Bishops and priests.

I thought Max Lindenman had the best take on it
http://www.patheos.com/community/diaryofawimpycatholic/2011/06/18/to-fr-corapi-bupkes-to-john-corapi-concern-and-sympathy/

The whole statement sounded so strange and it’s so sad; dh and I have really liked Fr. Corapi’s preaching for a long time.  I don’t see at all how a three-month long investigation suddenly leaves him “no choice” but to leave the priesthood.  No, living a life in seclusion isn’t what he would choose (obviously), but it’s not like saying private Masses and praying is doing nothing for the Church.  And there are rather a lot of people who have undergone the same thing - Padre Pio and Henri de Lubac (who wrote some beautiful things on obedience while waiting out his silence) spring to mind - and offered it up and been vindicated.  I don’t have quite as brutal a sense about it as Mark Shea (I don’t think Corapi has been that calculating all this time, I think he’s been mainly quite sincere and faithful), but I do get a strong sense that something is very wrong now.  What form that will take remains to be seen, but prayer is needed for him and for those led by him to doubt the Church.

The above two priest’s were in entirely different situations, not wholesale throwing our priests to the wolves so to speak, the good with the bad.  And not against one priest, but so many. Though I semi-agree with Fr. Corapi that is not what I would recommend for our other priests.  Hopefully, he will go to Mass every single morning for the rest of his life to make sure he stays on the straight and narrow.  The sinful priests have caused so much havoc in our Church.

Here’s a good analysis:

http://www.patheos.com/community/theanchoress/

I read and watched the video yesterday. Then I cried and cried. I was so struck. I felt as if his Priesthood was being taken from him, not the other way around, (as some of you mentioned above). I was so very sad for him. And for us.

Well put, Sonia.  The attack began on Ash Wednesday.  Obviously the evil one is going to go after those who are doing the most good for God’s kingdom.  Prayers, prayers, prayers for Fr. Corapi.

My very first thought “All any of us can do is trust in our Good God” and know that “HIS Will” will be done. God knows the Truth of this situation so we place all our trust in HIM and not concern ourselves over any details”. Trust in God and pray always!

I am sad . But I feel that if Fr Corapi is innocent, he should take it as a cross , which faith he unceasingly preached. “For it is better to suffer for doing good , if suffering should be God’s will , than to suffer for doing evil….. ” (1 Peter 3)
If he is guilty, God who is our Lord is waiting to receive his repentance and to forgive him and bless him. Some are weak and repentance makes them strong

Cin,

This is EXACTLY how I feel about the whole thing.  I had the same experiences with the MacFarlane situation and Medj.  Thanks for saying what I wanted to say.

Once a priest always a priest.

I thought this was a good response: http://www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester/2011/06/taking-his-marbles-and-going-home/

And I believe that given the 2 options of “quietly lie down and die or go on in ways that I am able to go on” that Christ chose the first.

Once a priest always a priest.

I thought this was a good response: http://www.splendoroftruth.com/curtjester/2011/06/taking-his-marbles-and-going-home/

And I believe that given the 2 options of “quietly lie down and die or go on in ways that I am able to go on” that Christ chose the first.

I am not familiar with the case or with the priest but it seems to me if he WAS that innocent, then nothing would’ve made him give up the priesthood. Did Jesus “give up the ship” just because the outcome would be very bad?  No.  If Father Corapi is TRULY innocent, he needs to stay a priest no matter what (give up the public service if you have to but remain a priest…heck become a cloistered monk if necessary).
I have watched bits and pieces of his show when it was broadcast, and he seems just a bit “creepy” to me and much too boisterous for my taste.

I haven’t read all of the comments here, but have read the information from Father Corapi posted elsewhere on the internet http://theblacksheepdog.wordpress.com and I don’t think he means he himself is leaving the priesthood. Under the circumstances like other priests dealing with the same alleged accusations, he has had his “priestly faculties” suspended. Sadly he is right, that in a secular court of law, anyone is innocent until proven guilty, but priests who have any kind of allegation brought against them are treated as guilty until proven innocent. Not right at all. The priests are just temporarily (or otherwise) banished from priestly life. I believe he’s innocent and I pray that God gives him (and all other innocent priests in the same situation) strength to deal with this immense cross he is being asked to shoulder.

Certainly it is possible to say The Enemy has not infiltrated the Church.  Fr. Corapi is making a choice.  I wonder at this.  I wonder if he has not looked over the lives of MANY of the saints, including last century’s Padre Pio, who suffered greater false accusations and persecutions than Father is today.  He endured all with patient subservience.  He trusted God when he knew he could not trust the “process”, and so it is disturbing to notice in Fr. Corapi’s announcement his lack of mentioning trusting God at any point.  HE has decided that the timeline will not work for him.  HE has decided it won’t work out.  I’m sorry, but we’re all in similar situations from time to time… things that are earthly impossible, but that’s where FAITH comes in.  He could have been a better example, to be honest.  God bless him.

If nothing else, for me this has been a very good reminder of how important it is to pray - and pray hard - for our priests!

I thought Jimmy Akin had interesting things to say, in particular about the name Fr. Corapi is now choosing to be known by:
http://www.ncregister.com/fr.-corapi-has-lost-it.html

Also, I was struck by reading this story I happened upon yesterday (copied verbatim from “The Deacon’s Bench Blog”):

“I was curious: what did St. Pio do?  How did he respond to the accusations (which were later recanted)?

I found one answer in a biography, as recounted in the blog Te Deum:

After Vespers, Padre Raffaele summoned Pio to the friary parlor and read the decree received on June 11, 1931, without comment:

“Padre Pio is to be stripped of all faculties of his priestly ministry except the faculty to celebrate the Holy Mass, which he may continue to do provided it is done in private, within the walls of the friary, in the inner chapel, and not publicy in church”.

To that, Ruffin explains St. Pio’s initial reaction:

“God’s will be done,”…then he covered his eyes with his hands, lowered his head, and murmured, “The will of the authorities is the will of God.”

While this caused immense suffering for Pio, which was confided privately to his friend and former teacher, Padre Agostino, he did not complain or make objections, especially in a public way.

When I read Fr. Corapi’s staatement, it made me so sad.  I missed his Lenten meditations, especially the Triduum talks.  I pray that Mary will look after her son.
I read of an elderly priest who died recently, a broken man, after suffering the consequences of two false accusations.  It seems that any priest can be gotten rid of by bringing an allegation against him.
I am pleased to see comments here maintain some sanity and are not the rants I have seen on other sites. Father Z askes that we have charity.
I have read of Pope Leo XIII’s vision that led to his composing the St. Michael Prayer. It is worth while to look it up.
We need to pray, pray, pray for all our priests.

From one brother priest to another, Fr. Z on Fr. Corapi…
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/06/about-fr-john-corapi-with-observations-about-our-times/

Regardless of your feelings on the matter, please pray for our priests.

One of the problems is that when a beloved teacher and leader says all the correct, orthodox things it is hard to believe that he doesn’t believe and live them with all his heart. It seems as if, since someone who is so orthodox knows and preaches the truth in a powerful way, he should be protected from falling into sin—or at least know better.  Intellectually we know that isn’t the case, but emotionally, it can be devastating for some people when a leader they’ve come to believe is a bastion of truth and orthodoxy is found to have feet of clay.  Having said that, I have no idea if Fr. Corapi is guilty of anything other than perhaps overreacting a bit.  However, there is a difference between being presumed to be innocent until proven guilty and being absolutely innocent.  We need to presume he is innocent; we don’t need to proclaim that he is absolutely innocent without any further investigation.