One-time Father Corapi's fall from grace
The short version: Catholic televangelist and religious priest, John Corapi, turns out to be (according to his religious superiors) a drug addict, a solicitor of prostitutes, and a millionaire. They want him to return to his religious community and lead a life of true poverty, chastity, and obedience. Instead he resigns from the priesthood and maintains his innocence (not to mention his media empire).
The long version: for many years a religious priest of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity by the name of John Corapi could be heard preaching on EWTN, on Catholic radio stations around the country, and at speaking engagements. His preaching was quite forceful in tone and of a traditionalist bent, sometimes with a focus on spiritual warfare. One time, years ago, I heard him on the radio speaking about his former life of sin, before his religious conversion that eventually led to him becoming a priest. This life was characterized by drug use and speeding around California with prostitutes and celebrities. It's not at all hard to see why such a character as Fr. Corapi could become a popular televangelist.
But then, in March, he was suspended from priestly ministry pending a Church investigation looking into allegations by a former employee (televangelism always involves a business--producing CDs, DVDs, organizing appearances, writing books, etc.) that he is a drug addict and has had sexual liaisons with various women over the years. He maintained his innocence and attributed this to an attack by Satan, the same point of view taken by the cult of personality that has developed around him.
Then, in June, he announced, surprisingly, that he had resigned his post as a priest, due to, he said, a corrupted Church justice system that failed to allow him to defend himself adequately, and that he would be going it alone from now on, still carrying the banner of Christ and his holy Catholic Church, under the new mantle "The Black Sheepdog." (UPDATE: This project was quickly abandoned, and Corapi has since vanished.)
Now, this month, his religious society made a press release to the effect that, even though their investigation was hindered by the fact that Corapi had made employees sign all-embracing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and was thus filing a lawsuit against his accuser (which his religious superiors have now ordered him, per his vow of obedience, to drop), thus preventing other witnesses from speaking to Church officials, they had evidence that Corapi had for some time been abusing drugs as well as living with a prostitute, and that, moreover, he is a millionaire (contrary to his vow of poverty). Nevertheless, some devoted fans stick by him, imagining a conspiracy or whatever.
Corapi joins the ranks of his infamous predecessors in this area of televangelical malfeasance:
The long version: for many years a religious priest of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity by the name of John Corapi could be heard preaching on EWTN, on Catholic radio stations around the country, and at speaking engagements. His preaching was quite forceful in tone and of a traditionalist bent, sometimes with a focus on spiritual warfare. One time, years ago, I heard him on the radio speaking about his former life of sin, before his religious conversion that eventually led to him becoming a priest. This life was characterized by drug use and speeding around California with prostitutes and celebrities. It's not at all hard to see why such a character as Fr. Corapi could become a popular televangelist.
But then, in March, he was suspended from priestly ministry pending a Church investigation looking into allegations by a former employee (televangelism always involves a business--producing CDs, DVDs, organizing appearances, writing books, etc.) that he is a drug addict and has had sexual liaisons with various women over the years. He maintained his innocence and attributed this to an attack by Satan, the same point of view taken by the cult of personality that has developed around him.
Then, in June, he announced, surprisingly, that he had resigned his post as a priest, due to, he said, a corrupted Church justice system that failed to allow him to defend himself adequately, and that he would be going it alone from now on, still carrying the banner of Christ and his holy Catholic Church, under the new mantle "The Black Sheepdog." (UPDATE: This project was quickly abandoned, and Corapi has since vanished.)
Now, this month, his religious society made a press release to the effect that, even though their investigation was hindered by the fact that Corapi had made employees sign all-embracing non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and was thus filing a lawsuit against his accuser (which his religious superiors have now ordered him, per his vow of obedience, to drop), thus preventing other witnesses from speaking to Church officials, they had evidence that Corapi had for some time been abusing drugs as well as living with a prostitute, and that, moreover, he is a millionaire (contrary to his vow of poverty). Nevertheless, some devoted fans stick by him, imagining a conspiracy or whatever.
Corapi joins the ranks of his infamous predecessors in this area of televangelical malfeasance:
Eddie Long (2010: allegations of sexual manipulation)The guilt of neither Long nor Corapi has been proven, nor have they admitted it. Nevertheless, I don't see what other reasonable conclusion one can draw in Long's case, given that he settled out of court, having his accusers sign a NDA. Similarly, Corapi chose to sue his accuser, ignore his superiors, quit the priesthood, and strike out on his own. The moral obligation to assume the best about a person only holds so long as such an assumption is plausible. Corapi can maintain his innocence all he wants, but at this point who honestly expects him to return to his religious community and to honor the vows he made? If he had any intention of doing that, he wouldn't have resigned from the priesthood in the first place. By his conduct he has lost the benefit of the doubt and has no future as any kind of legitimate minister of the Gospel. I have a bad feeling that, whatever he used to be, if he's not already, he is in serious danger of becoming a Popoff, nothing more than a businessman who peddles religious hot air. Perhaps it was the allure of money and/or celebrity that seduced him back to his old ways. "For the love of money is the root of all evils" (1 Tim 6:10).
Ted Haggard (2006: drugs and male prostitutes)
Jim Bakker (1987: a rape accusation and fraud)
Peter Popoff (1987: fraud)
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