Santa Cruz Media has released a statement concerning the Fr. Corapi situation. I think it would be an understatement to say that they’re siding with Fr. Corapi. While they don’t name the accuser they call her a disgruntled former employee who literally went out swinging and swearing to take down Fr. Corapi.
Check out the full statement at Less Femmes, The Truth:
Santa Cruz Media, Inc. is the owner of all of Fr. John Corapi’s intellectual property and the DVDs, CDs, and books that flow from it. We are a secular corporation and not affiliated with the Catholic Church in any way. As such, we are not under the jurisdiction of any bishop or other official in the Catholic Church, although we have the utmost respect for Church authority.
We fully support Rev. John Corapi in this terrible trial, not surprisingly having begun on Ash Wednesday. Through the sacrifice and struggle of the desert and all of the dark moments that this entails, we are confident that the glory of the risen Lord will shine forth from the power of the Resurrection and Easter.
March 26, 2011 at 12:00 am
Well, that explains why it was so utterly out of the blue, and extreme….
March 26, 2011 at 1:17 am
For it to be taken this far when it's obvious she was all that is quite the bottom straw for the amount of flak Catholicism takes in this Modernist age. Pray for the reversal when Jesus returns.
March 26, 2011 at 1:33 am
This really explains little, and all the comments from the camp of the Accused are unbecoming, to say the least.
March 26, 2011 at 1:35 am
How dare a third that the accuser assaulted, while announcing intent to ruin the accused, share relevant information– we're supposed to assume he's GUILTY!
March 26, 2011 at 2:58 pm
It is hard to know what to believe right now, butit seems that the main gist of the statement is that they are going to continue selling and making money. It is also a shame that Fr. C. often said that Bishops have a hard job and need to be respected and prayed for, and this statement comes out calling the Bishop's move possibly illicit. I believe that it would be more prudent just to stay quiet and let the process run its course.
March 26, 2011 at 3:02 pm
This article raises more questions than answers them. Of course, Santa Cruz Media, Inc will defend the Father. He is their cash cows. His their $. If he goes down there is no more bling.
Da Father is clearly not out of the woods. If I were a betting man, my bet would be again the priest. That's were the odds are these days. Priest are very seldom innocent victims.
March 26, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Anonymous, YOU are allowed you opinion, but these people are "unbecoming" if they express theirs? Richard, you have already tried and found him guilty because he wears the same collar some other men have desecrated? Fr. Rob, your take on it is cynical and assumes Fr. Corapi is personally responsible for what this group published. This isn't even American justice, let alone Christian charity!! EVERYONE pray the truth comes out, and God's will be done in the process. And remember the sin of gossip!
March 26, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Rather than rushing to judgement at either end….YES…that includes assuming that the alleged victim is lying, let's wait. Just as it's easy to assume a disgruntled employee is lying, it would also be easy to conclude that an ego-maniacal priest who constantly refers to himself when preaching might also be capable of sinning. Let's just pray that it's not the case.
March 26, 2011 at 4:00 pm
Ego-maniacal… yeah, that's some charity there….
March 26, 2011 at 5:02 pm
Dear Hyancinth,
I have had direct experience with these people through our Catholic Radio station, and I can tell you that the contract is 20 pages long and most deals with selling his items. It is mentioned in the contract actually that his items are the ONLY things that can be sold at his conferences. No other religious objects, like rosaries or pictures were no even allowed at the event we gave. I am not being cynical, but realistic. I hope Fr. Corapi is innocent. I really do, but I have watched things change over the years where things start to get questionable. Fr. Robert Barron puts his homilies on Itunes for free, but Fr. Corapi charges monthly fees for his homilies on his web site. I stabd by my statement that Santa Cruz number one concern is sales.
March 26, 2011 at 5:42 pm
Why would they put out a video like his last one,"Learn Your Faith-Lent 2011"-which distorts his head and ears, digitally? Looks very strange.
March 26, 2011 at 8:51 pm
So Fr. Corapi was accused by a professional Catholic and is now being defended by more professional Catholics who profit from his work… None of this relates to the fundamentals of the situation This unless you start looking at the troubles caused by professional Catholics. This problem is not unique. the church went through the same problems prior to the protestant reformation because of the selling of indulgences and other bad practices of rogue prelates in the Middle Ages. God help all involved. I believe Fr. Corapi and those who come to his defense. We have to address the profiteering class of professional Catholics. They could bring us all down.
March 26, 2011 at 10:48 pm
Do we actually know anything about his accuser?
We know they're female, and that they apparently accused Corapi of having sex with women and being a drug addict.
It's a pretty big jump to go from "Fr Corapi was accused" to "This is all because of professional Catholics."
I assure you, false accusations by angry women are not unusual, and in no way, shape or form are they limited to "professional Catholics." (Whatever the heck that may be.)
March 27, 2011 at 12:21 am
I guess my problem with this statement is the fact that it comes from the company that sells his stuff. Since he is on leave, they are unable to sell his items so they are loosing money. Maybe their intentions are sincere but when you are hit in the pocketbook, people are more apt to step forward.
I say we pray for everyone involved and hopefully the truth will come out sooner than later.
March 27, 2011 at 12:55 am
Father Corapi has to pay for very heavy security. He has figured out a way to do it without billing the conference people or the churches or anybody else.
Good grief, people. A priest' life is in constant danger because of what he preaches so he figures out a way to pay for security himself and everyone wants to throw stones?
If for no other reason, be thankful that the dioceses/conferences/name your favorite charity don't have to pay for his security. I was told a few years back that it was running a million dollars a year. Could be. There are a lot of people who would like to see him dead.
And as far as how he is handling this: Do you honestly believe that you would handle it any better? I was falsely accused of things privately a couple of months back and I didn't handle it very well. That was private. This is public. The man is human for crying out loud. Cut him some slack.
March 27, 2011 at 2:32 am
Since he is on leave, they are unable to sell his items so they are loosing money.
They are still selling his "stuff." I've heard folks have asked that people buy more, to defray the costs of defending him.
March 27, 2011 at 3:01 am
He doesn't need a defense anymore than Jesus needed a defense. If he speaks the truth, all will take care of itself. Judge lest ye be judged. I know this because I am a modern-day prophet. I know sin when I see it and I know truth when I hear it. I am me and you are you; anything else is from the evil one. St. Jude, pray for us! Pass this message on to five other Catholics and you will receive seven years of good luck.
March 27, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Unfortunately it is very easy to be falsely and unjustly judged these days. I had a staff of four, three female and one male. Two of the females absolutely hated the third and trumped up a charge that I favored her. They bypassed my male supervisor and went to his female boss who believed them although my supervisor and I explained the situation. The result is that 6 months away from early retirement and after 14+ accomplished years with this company I was terminated not by my supervisor but by his boss for 'lack of work' even though I put in 50 – 60 hours a week as a salaried employee.
Now I am in my late fifties and after 500 job applications and 38 years of experience in my field I am still unemployed after a year. This can and does happen just to let you know. At least Fr. Corapi still has health care and probably something to retire on.
March 27, 2011 at 10:24 pm
If Fr Corapi is a member of a religious order would not they receive the profits from the sale of his DVDs etc? If they receive the profits why should Fr Corapi, who I presume has sworn a vow of poverty, pay for his defense, heating, rent etc? Some years ago Fr Corapi received millions of dollars in a medical mal-practise suit. Did his religious order receive this money? If so they can certainly pay his expenses and if they didn't then Fr Corapi, an ex-accountant, can certainly pay his own way.
I have purchased a number of Fr Corapi's DVDs and found them completely orthodox. As for his use of personal anecdotes, I don't find that a problem.
March 27, 2011 at 10:50 pm
Victoria-
As I understand it, he gave his community all of the award from the malpractice suit.
Unknown what happens to the profits from his lectures and sales– I would imagine that after the costs are taken care of (including his own upkeep– he doesn't have a vow of poverty, and he pays for all his own expenses) he gives them away. In secret, like we're supposed to do.
(One of the {many} things that has annoyed me about this from the get-go is folks assuming that he should be bragging about what happens to the money. Kinda ironic, considering the timing.)