John Corapi’s BlackSheepDog Website Is Gone

All of it, gone.

This is noteworthy: Father John Corapi’s Internet presence at sites such as the www.theblacksheepdog.us and http://theblacksheepdog.wordpress.com has vanished, ditto for his presence on YouTube and Facebook. No one I know has any clue what happened to him, but there are several possible scenarios that would explain this. The one I hope is correct is that he has reconciled with the S.O.L.T. order he once was a member of and, more importantly, that he has reconciled with the Catholic Church, from which it certainly seemed he was distancing himself in the wake of all the unpleasantness that erupted last year.

In any case, his abrupt disappearance from the Internet serves as good reminder that we should all continue praying for him, whatever path he may be on.

And I for one am glad, that BlackSheepDog was really evil-looking… May Fr Corapi have found peace, and may he be reconciled with Holy Church.

The blog Te Deum Laudamus makes some further observations.

… Everyone is wondering what is up. Many are hoping that this signals Father Corapi’s return to SOLT (yes, I’m still calling him Father because the Church, to my knowledge, has not stated publicly that he is no longer to be called, “Father” and I prefer to keep in mind that he remains a priest).

Here, I will throw in a few possibilities which are purely speculative, along with my own hopes…

John Corapi: Today Marks a New Era for me

And he has revamped his website too, having gotten rid of that hideous, creepy Black Sheepdog header. I must say it looks much better now:

Today marks a new era for me and for the good folks that work with me. We have launched our new website: www.theblacksheepdog.us. Through this electronic vehicle we hope to continue to bring you a message of truth and hope…as I always tried to do in the past.

This week, with the launching of this new website, we’ll be introducing some new material…

I have always had difficulty saying goodbye to the past, and hello to new things. Change is not something I have always handled well, but you do what you have to do, and I’m not ready to lay down and die just yet so we’ll work hard at providing you with informative and inspiring material.

I hope you will come along with us on what will most likely be a very exciting ride. Speaking of rides, the album cover for the new audio/video version of my life story is a picture of me riding my Harley Davidson Fatboy through the hills of Montana. We had fun shooting the pictures. I hope you’ll enjoy our ride into the future.

Dear me… What a shame. Would that this Prodigal repent and be reconciled.

Fr John Corapi: End of An Era

Yada yada yada…

Okay so the long and the short of the story is: Out = Fr John Corapi; In = The Blacksheep Dog.

That’s it. 

Sad and, if I may say so, very wrong. Be reconciled Fr!

Fr Corapi: The New Luther?

Spero News:

I have never had promiscuous or even inappropriate relations with her…I never paid anyone off to remain silent…I resigned because the process used by the Church is grossly unjust and…immoral…I [will not] commit to the suggestion of the Society [to] essentially crawl under a rock and wait to die. –John “Black Sheep Dog” Corapi, from his latest statement.

What would it matter if, for the sake of greater good and the Christian Church, one were to tell a good, boldface lie?–Martin Luther

While only the avid readers of the “Corapi corrupted” saga might immediately grasp the boldness and baldness of the lies on BS-Dog’s latest blog, any ten-year-old can tell you that the Corapi statement of his innocence and SOLT’s statement of his guilt both cannot be true. Like Luther’s tract on the sacraments versus the teachings of Luther’s one-time hero Augustine, they are simply incompatible, and you must choose one or the other. What is becoming increasingly apparent is that the “Church” championed by the Society of Our Lady and its famous former member (and his followers) might soon be different from each other too.

Corapi’s five denials of SOLT’s charges, while two more than Peter’s three denials of Christ, are still ninety less than Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five ["Trick-or-Treat"] Theses, so we (or any ten-year-old) can easily examine their contents. Now, on Corapi’s refutation of SOLT’s first charge, that the former Father violated his perpetual vow of poverty, we have to concede Corapi at least one point. “At every step of the way,” maintains Corapi, “through the entire past twenty years, the Society of Our Lady’s leadership knew of my financial independence,” so why didn’t they say something sooner?

Few, and even I suspect Corapi himself, would describe a man owning over a million dollars in land, along with several nice cars, boats and motorcycles, not to mention a prosperous media company as living in poverty, but because he was living so long and openly in luxury, I (and many others) were extremely surprised he was bound by this vow. As Father Joe Jenkins said on his holy site, Blogger Priest, “I think that the leadership in SOLT must be faulted for allowing this situation to grow so out of hand. They should have reigned him in years ago. Their passivity has now made for a far worse and more scandalous situation.”

Although Corapi’s situation reminds me much of the downfall of Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, the exorcist priest who roamed the country abusing women until the outcry of the abused (with the help of the Catholic press) forced his bishop to put a stop to it, it is probably more similar (according to Phil Lawler of Catholic Culture) to the case of the late Father Marcial Maciel. “Like…the disgraced founder of the Legion of Christ, John Corapi has worked for years as a celebrity priest: encouraging a cult of personality, setting his own agenda, raising large sums of money that he spent at his own discretion, and—most dangerous of all—accountable to no one.

It was a formula for disaster, and now the disaster has occurred…

… by scoffing at the opportunity of returning to the SOLT community, and declaring the humble but holy choice of celebrating the Eucharist (which as late as June 23, Corapi called “the primary reason a priest is ordained”) and hearing confessions not even an option, Corapi finds himself at the same spot as Luther did after posting his Ninety-Five Theses but before his excommunication and split with Rome…

Read on here.

While thought provoking, it is not one of the best of comparisons it has to be said.

Fr Corapi Makes A New Video Appearance: Changes and Future

Looking anything but like a Catholic Priest! Speaking about changes and the future (in media), he really seems to be living the moniker: Black Sheep Dog.

Fr Corapi Responds to SOLT: I Have Never Had Any Promiscuous or Even Inappropriate Relations

Over at The Black Sheepdog:

I am going to answer in a simple, straight forward way what seem to me the main elements of the action taken against me by the Diocese of Corpus Christi and the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity.

Regarding my personal financial situation—From the earliest days (more than twenty years ago) the Founder of the Society of Our Lady, Fr. James Flanagan, encouraged me to support myself and the Church as well. He said they could not afford to support my ministry and me personally because of the unique nature of the mission. At every step of the way, through the entire past twenty years, the Society of Our Lady’s leadership knew of my financial independence.  As Fr. Flanagan encouraged, I have supported SOLT and myself from ‘day-one.‘  I have never relied on the Society for shelter, clothing, transportation, medical care, or legal counsel and instead, using my history of success in business, set up my mission as any savvy business man would, meanwhile continuing to support the Society and many other Catholic Charities.

Regarding the charge of sexual impropriety—This song of greed has been sung many times before.  I have never had any promiscuous or even inappropriate relations with her.  Never.

Regarding the investigation—As standard practice, my legal counsel advised me not to cooperate with the investigation until I was able to determine that the Commission’s process was fair and I had adequate rights to defend myself.  Questions that certainly qualify the validity of any legal case have never been answered by the so called “fact finding team.”  They refuse to reveal, and therefore utilize, any of the so-called evidence perhaps because if ‘the bad guy’ were truly revealed it may be revealed that he is really not that bad.  Clearly, as my legal counsel has portrayed, the evidence supplied by the accused (of which my counsel is not permitted access to) must not have any substance.

Regarding ‘hush money’—I never paid anybody off to remain silent. On two occasions there were standard severance agreements executed with former employees and independent contractors. These agreements contained very common non-disclosure provisions. Any attorney who would not include such provisions in such agreements would rightly be guilty of negligent and actionable conduct.

Regarding my resignation—I resigned because the process used by the Church is grossly unjust, and, hence, immoral. I resigned because I had no chance from the beginning of a fair and just hearing.  As I have indicated from the beginning of all this, I am not extinguished!  If I were to commit to the suggestion of the Society, then I would essentially crawl under a rock and wait to die.  However, I can not deny this desire to share aspects of Truth and Hope with all those willing to hear.  This is what I shall continue to fight for!  Many are not going to appreciate this decision, and I respect that.  For those who can accept it, onward!

Not all the accusations are responded to it must be said: other sexual activity, repeated abuse of alcohol and drugs, improper sacramental practices, sexting etc.

The Creative Minority Report point out this out too.

Fr Corapi’s Lawsuit Against Accuser (Full Text)

Jimmy Akin has it:

At the bottom of this post I’m linking a copy of the legal pleading by which Fr. Corapi filed suit against his accuser.

Many people have understandably been curious as to what the lawsuit says, and it is a matter of public record that can serve to shed light on the case. (In particular, it tells Fr. Corapi’s side of the story via his lawyers.)

Although I have unredacted copies of the pleadings in the case, I am including one here that omits the name of the accuser (a) because although the accuser’s name is now widely known, she was outed and has not to date chosen to make significant public statements on the subject and (b) because I do not have the original copies of the pleadings scanned at this point. I may post more, including unredacted ones, in the future.

I would call attention to two particular parts of the pleading.

First, there is paragraph 15 of the complaint, which contains Fr. Corapi’s summary of the accusers allegations (Corapi maintains these are false; click image to enlarge):

Second, I would call attention to paragraph 28, which contains an excerpt from the non-disclosure agreement that Corapi allegedly paid $100,000 to the accuser to sign (click image to enlarge):

A pdf. download of the above document is available here.

The whole thing is messy.

SOLT Report on Fr John Corapi: Sexual Activity, Alcohol and Drugs Abuse, Improper Sacramental Practices

[The full SOLT statement is up on their website here]

The Deacon’s Bench has the shocking report:

Fr. John A. Corapi submitted his resignation from the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (“SOLT”) early in June. SOLT is a Society of Apostolic Life of Diocesan Right with its regional office in Robstown, Texas.

While SOLT does not typically comment publicly on personnel matters, it recognizes that Fr. John Corapi, through his ministry, has inspired thousands of faithful Catholics, many of whom continue to express their support of him. SOLT also recognizes that Fr. Corapi is now misleading these individuals through his false statements and characterizations. It is for these Catholics that SOLT, by means of this announcement, seeks to set the record straight.

A woman, well known to Fr. John Corapi, mailed SOLT a signed letter detailing allegations of Fr. Corapi’s sexual activity with adult women, abuse of alcohol and drugs, improper sacramental practices, violation of his promise of poverty, and other wrongdoing.

After receiving the allegation, SOLT formed a three person fact-finding team to ensure that it handled this matter in accordance with canonical norms. The team included a priest-canonist, a psychiatrist, and a lawyer. Two were members of religious orders, and one was a lay Catholic. Two were men, and one was a woman. All three have national reputations and substantial experience in ecclesiastical processes related to priest disciplinary issues.

As the Society was engaging this team, Fr. Corapi filed a civil lawsuit against his principal accuser. He contended that she had defamed him and breached her contract. The contract, according to Corapi’s lawsuit, contained a provision binding the woman to silence about him. He offered the woman $100,000 to enter this agreement.

SOLT’s fact-finding team subsequently learned that Fr. Corapi may have negotiated contracts with other key witnesses that precluded them from speaking with SOLT’s fact-finding team. Many of these witnesses likely had key information about the accusations being investigated and declined to answer questions and provide documents.

When the fact-finding team asked Fr. Corapi to dismiss the lawsuit, to forbear from foreclosing his mortgage, and to release her and other individuals from their contractual obligations to remain silent about him, he refused to do so and, through his canonical advocate, stated: “It is not possible for Father Corapi to answer the Commission’s questions at this time.”

SOLT’s fact-finding team has acquired information from Fr. Corapi’s e-mails, various witnesses, and public sources that, together, state that, during his years of public ministry:

He did have sexual relations and years of cohabitation (in California and Montana) with a woman known to him, when the relationship began, as a prostitute; He repeatedly abused alcohol and drugs; He has recently engaged in sexting activity with one or more women in Montana; He holds legal title to over $1 million in real estate, numerous luxury vehicles, motorcycles, an ATV, a boat dock, and several motor boats, which is a serious violation of his promise of poverty as a perpetually professed member of the Society.

SOLT has contemporaneously with the issuance of this press release directed Fr. John Corapi, under obedience, to return home to the Society’s regional office and take up residence there. It has also ordered him, again under obedience, to dismiss the lawsuit he has filed against his accuser.

SOLT’s prior direction to Fr. John Corapi not to engage in any preaching or teaching, the celebration of the sacraments or other public ministry continues. Catholics should understand that SOLT does not consider Fr. John Corapi as fit for ministry.

UPDATE I:  Note that the above post has been removed and replaced with Trust But Verify:

N.B.: The post previously occupying this spot has been removed until the statement it contained can be verified.

While he has opted to do that, similar information is emerging, this time via  About.com Catholicism:

Holy Trinity (SOLT), has released a statement this morning that does not mince words:

While SOLT does not typically comment publicly on personnel matters, it recognizes that Fr. John Corapi, through his ministry, has inspired thousands of faithful Catholics, many of whom continue to express their support of him. SOLT also recognizes that Fr. Corapi is now misleading these individuals through his false statements and characterizations. It is for these Catholics that SOLT, by means of this announcement, seeks to set the record straight.

The statement goes on to detail the allegations made by Father Corapi’s accuser, which include “sexual activity with adult women, abuse of alcohol and drugs, improper sacramental practices, violation of his promise of poverty, and other wrongdoing.” It then describes the process used to investigate the allegations:

After receiving the allegation, SOLT formed a three person fact-finding team to ensure that it handled this matter in accordance with canonical norms. The team included a priest-canonist, a psychiatrist, and a lawyer. Two were members of religious orders, and one was a lay Catholic. Two were men, and one was a woman. All three have national reputations and substantial experience in ecclesiastical processes related to priest disciplinary issues.

Where SOLT’s previous statement (on June 21) hinted that Father Corapi’s actions had obstructed the investigation, there is no hinting in today’s release:

As the Society was engaging this team, Fr. Corapi filed a civil lawsuit against his principal accuser. He contended that she had defamed him and breached her contract. The contract, according to Corapi’s lawsuit, contained a provision binding the woman to silence about him. He offered the woman $100,000 to enter this agreement.

SOLT’s fact-finding team subsequently learned that Fr. Corapi may have negotiated contracts with other key witnesses that precluded them from speaking with SOLT’s fact-finding team. Many of these witnesses likely had key information about the accusations being investigated and declined to answer questions and provide documents.

When the fact-finding team asked Fr. Corapi to dismiss the lawsuit, to forbear from foreclosing his mortgage, and to release her and other individuals from their contractual obligations to remain silent about him, he refused to do so and, through his canonical advocate, stated: “It is not possible for Father Corapi to answer the Commission’s questions at this time.”

And then Father Sheehan drops the bombshell:

SOLT’s fact-finding team has acquired information from Fr. Corapi’s e-mails, various witnesses, and public sources that, together, state that, during his years of public ministry:

He did have sexual relations and years of cohabitation (in California and Montana) with a woman known to him, when the relationship began, as a prostitute; He repeatedly abused alcohol and drugs; He has recently engaged in sexting activity with one or more women in Montana; He holds legal title to over $1 million in real estate, numerous luxury vehicles, motorcycles, an ATV, a boat dock, and several motor boats, which is a serious violation of his promise of poverty as a perpetually professed member of the Society.

But the story does not end there:

SOLT has contemporaneously with the issuance of this press release directed Fr. John Corapi, under obedience, to return home to the Society’s regional office and take up residence there. It has also ordered him, again under obedience, to dismiss the lawsuit he has filed against his accuser.

SOLT’s prior direction to Fr. John Corapi not to engage in any preaching or teaching, the celebration of the sacraments or other public ministry continues. Catholics should understand that SOLT does not consider Fr. John Corapi as fit for ministry.

I received this information just seconds after publishing my article “Should Priests Live in Community? Reflections Inspired by the Case of Father Corapi,” in which I mentioned that I had received a copy of Father Corapi’s lawsuit last week, detailing the allegations that his accuser had made. Father Sheehan’s statement about the illicit activities that Father Corapi engaged in is consistent with the allegations listed in the lawsuit.

Also, the NC Register is running with the story:

In a July 5 press release, Father Gerard Sheehan, the priest’s superior, outlines multiple violations of Father Corapi’s holy orders and directs him to return to the community…

Read it  here.

UPDATE II:  The Creative Minority Report:

Some people are suggesting the SOLT statement isn’t real. I have it on good authority that it has been verified otherwise the Reg would not have run it. It is legit. SOLT says he did it all.

More commentary to come. Still trying to take it in.

UPDATE III:  Fr Corapi responds to the above.

Fr John Corapi Files Lawsuit Against Accuser

The Sacramento Bee has the latest:

A former Sacramento priest and nationally known speaker has filed a lawsuit against the woman who accused him of sexual misconduct.

The Rev. John Corapi, who served as the director of Catholic Faith Formation in Sacramento in the 1990s, filed a lawsuit in the 11th Judicial District Court of Montana, where he now lives. He alleges that his accuser committed libel and that a letter she wrote to his religious superiors contained “numerous false, malicious and unprivileged statements” about the priest. He is suing for punitive and unspecified compensatory damages.

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests on Wednesday publicized Corapi’s lawsuit, which was filed in April.

“I think it is reprehensible that he would sue her,” said David Clohessy, national director of the victims rights group. “Clearly, he is trying to intimidate her.” He said a priest suing his accuser is unusual.

Corapi could not be reached for comment.

Corapi is a popular and well-known Catholic speaker who appeared regularly on TV, where he celebrated Mass and delivered powerful homilies.

He was placed on administrative leave from the Corpus Christi Diocese in Texas after the accusations in March. The allegations did not involve minors, according to officials in the Corpus Christ Diocese. On June 17, Corapi resigned from public ministry.

In the lawsuit, Corapi said the success of his ministry depends on his reputation and his position of a priest in good standing.

Corapi was a well-liked priest who drew standing-room only crowds when he spoke…

Fr Corapi: Please Understand This, I Have Not Left The Church

 

The Black Sheep Dog is beginning to work on my nerves:

I am sincerely thankful to all of you that have been kind and charitable, and also those that have perhaps been something less than that. Everyone has their opinions, and a perfect right to them. I respect that…

I think it’s a bit too easy to arrive at an erroneous conclusion when you base it on a fallacious presupposition. For instance, some very kind and fine people assume that I have “left the Church.” Please, understand this, I have not left the Church. I love the Catholic Church and would not “leave the Church.” I have resigned from public ministry, which is rather anticlimactic to be sure since I was out of it anyhow due to the suspension or “administrative leave,” which is tantamount to suspension. There are elements of this that you don’t know about, and that’s not your fault.

Once a man is ordained a priest he remains a priest for all eternity. Holy Orders is one of the three sacraments that imprints an indelible mark on the soul. What the Church can give or remove is “faculties”, which authorizes the person to publicly administer the sacraments. I always cringe when I hear “he’s not a priest anymore.” If he ever was, he still is. …

Please don’t think I don’t value the sacraments. I do. However, the public administration of the sacraments was never what the Church told me to do. They sent me to preach. The two are not mutually exclusive. They are complimentary. Not all of the members of the Body of Christ are the same, but they are all necessary, noble, and holy.

Some of you have thought I might have acted too fast and not given the Church enough time to complete their investigation. You could be right, but you also don’t know the facts like I do. The utter disregard for our reasonable requests and certain statements made by the lawyer for the Society of Our Lady confirmed to us that they would not complete the investigation so long as I insisted in exercising my civil and human rights. That is a dead horse. Why beat it? My lawyers would not allow me to continue unless ten questions were answered regarding the nature of the process—simple reasonable questions. They ignored the request for 6 weeks and still ignore it. These weren’t rocket science questions. At a future time we’ll publish the entire letter and the questions.

For about ten years I have been attacked, threatened, and endured extortion attempts. The leadership of the Church never lifted a finger to help me in any way with this. 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. The trauma created by all of the sexual abuse of minors scandals has warped the judgment of some in authority. They are running scared. I believe in my case they panicked. “We don’t know if the dog is rabid, but let’s shoot him in the head just in case.” Well, this black sheep of a sheepdog has been “shot in the head” before and lived to tell about it. I’ll be telling about it for awhile longer.

The name “The Black Sheep Dog” is the title of my autobiography, a title which I came up with about a year and a half ago. That title was, by the way, stolen by a person who worked for me while they were working for me, attempting to secure internet domain names under that title. That is in effect a violation of federal intellectual property laws since I have both registered trademarks and copyright on that title. The title is simply the combination of a black sheep, that would be me; and a sheepdog, that would also be me. The concept of a sheepdog guarding the flock is certainly biblical and also an idea I gleaned from an article from LTC Dave Grossman, which we’ll post for you to read at a future date, or you can read it on the internet where it has been circulating for some time.

Listen my friends, I realize this situation is less than ideal. I don’t like it either, but under the circumstances I honestly believed and still do that I had one of two choices to make:

1. Crawl under a rock and quietly die; or

2. Don’t crawl under the rock and don’t die. I feel that I still have something to offer.

The leadership of the Church has made it clear to me they don’t want me anymore. They have a right to do that and I have to accept that. So, I’ll do what I can outside of the Church. I’m not leaving the Church. I am simply doing something else in life so that I won’t wither up and die, and so that you can still derive some benefit from my gifts from God. It may not be as good as before, or it may be better. The only thing I know for sure is that I’m not going to disobey the Church and attempt to “minister” as a priest, and I’m not going to lay down and die. I’m not ready to do that just yet. As a matter of fact, you might be pleasantly surprised at what’s in our future. Stay in touch. We may not have the old meeting places anymore, but we have some new ones and I would like to meet you there. Until next time this is the Black SheepDog, unleashed and very much alive.

The whole post can be read here.