Fame: "One cannot be too careful not to think of it"

In light of the breaking news dominating the Catholic blogosphere re Fr. Corapi, I like to quote one of my favorite lines from C. S. Lewis (as reported by Walter Hooper):

" . . . I asked Lewis if he was ever aware of the fact that regardless of his intentions he was "winning worship" from his books. He said in a low, still voice, and with the deepest and most complete humility I've ever observed in anyone,

"One cannot be too careful not to think of it."

I'm no media personality but even in my little corner of the traveling world, I have found Lewis' phrase extraordinarily helpful and have repeated it to myself dozens of times on the road.

n/t Sherry at sienna.org

EWTN statement on Father John Corapi

EWTN:

Father John Corapi’s religious order has found him guilty of substance abuse, sexual activity and violating his promise of poverty.

A July 5 press release from the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) said that while Fr. Corapi was involved in public ministry he had “sexual relations and years of cohabitation with a woman known to him, when the relationship began, as a prostitute.”

The investigative team also found that he “repeatedly abused alcohol and drugs,” “recently engaged in ‘sexting’ activity with one or more women in Montana,” and holds legal title “to over $1 million in real estate, numerous luxury vehicles, motorcycles, an ATV, a boat dock, and several motor boats.”

His religious order said it is concerned “Fr. Corapi is now misleading (many) 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 fact-finding team created by the order “acquired information from Fr. Corapi’s emails, various witnesses and public sources,” in response to a signed letter from a woman who is well known to Fr. Corapi.

The Society said in the news release that Fr. Corapi, under his vow of obedience, has been ordered to “return home to the society’s regional office and take up residence there,” and to “dismiss the lawsuit he has filed against his accuser.”

The order added that its “prior direction to Father John Corapi not to engage in any preaching or teaching, the celebration of the sacraments or other public ministry continues.”

As the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity sought to carry out its investigation into the allegations against Fr. Corapi, it found that its fact-finding team was hindered by a civil lawsuit the priest had filed and by sweeping non-disclosure agreements he had negotiated with his accuser and other witnesses.

The civil lawsuit argued that his principal accuser had committed slander and breach of contract.

Fr. Corapi refused to dismiss the lawsuit and the team discovered many other contracts that prevented “key witnesses” from speaking.

“Many of these witnesses likely had key information about the accusations being investigated and declined to answer questions and provide documents,” the order said.

The fact-finding team was composed of a priest-canonist, a psychiatrist and a lawyer, two of whom were members of religious orders and one a lay Catholic.

The statement notes that two were men and one was a woman, all with a “national reputation and substantial experience in ecclesiastical processes related to priest disciplinary issues.”

Fr. Corapi expressed his desire to leave the Society and the priesthood in a June 17 statement. He said he felt he was being “unjustly accused,” and that “(t)here are certain persons in authority in the Church that want me gone, and I shall be gone.”

Fr. Corapi has not yet been released from his vows.

“Catholics should understand that SOLT does not consider Father John Corapi as fit for ministry,” the statement concluded.

A priestly view of the Father Corapi situation

By Father Tim Finigan

Fr Corapi has published another defence of himself, including a further attack on his accuser, the process by which he was being investigated, and the people conducting it. I think most priest bloggers will be profoundly disturbed by all of this, and, if sensible, will make a serious examination of conscience.

We priests start out blogging for the sake of the Kingdom, for the Church, and to help others to a deeper knowledge and love of Jesus Christ. We have different ways of doing that: some priests simply blog their sermons and I find that edifying. Others post about some particular area of interest or expertise. That is also edifying. Still others, like me, try to put in a mixture of comment, entertainment (funny YouTube videos and the like) and support for others (reviewing their books, advertising their events, putting up photos of reverently celebrated Masses and so on.) That is not quite so edifying but has a greater reach.

People are hungry for sound teaching; if they consider that I, or another priest blogger is giving that, then we receive a great deal of praise, appreciation and, let's be frank, love in return. The danger is that the love can become debased into hero-worship and lead to a sort of minor celebrity status. This is a very serious danger for a priest. Some time ago, when the hits started picking up on this blog, I made a resolution that whenever anyone tells me that they read my blog, I say "Thank you." It is a pathetically small thing but it does help to remind me that I should also be thankful for the grace of God if the blog has done any good to anyone, and that I should think carefully about what I post in case it does harm.

Considering that priests, along with the rest of the human race, are damaged by original sin and their own personal sins, "celebrity status" is also a danger for the "fans." When a parish priest falls, there are always parishioners who insist that "he was the best priest we ever had." When a "celebrity priest" announces that he is leaving active ministry, the number of the confused and hurt is likely to be several orders of magnitude higher. (I intend to write something more for their sake too.)

As priests,we are subject to the waking nightmare that someone will make a false allegation against us, and we will be out on administrative leave forthwith. Given the damage done by priests, we just need to accept that this will be a penance we have to do for the good of the whole Church. The process can seem unjust and a priest can feel he has been hung out to dry, thrown under a bus, fed to the crows or whatever; but we all know why this has to happen. I'm sure that some details in the process need to be corrected for the sake of justice but it is essentially the right thing for the Church to do.

I am not speaking purely theoretically here. Recently I met a good priest, an old friend whom I had not seen for some years. He told me that he had been put on leave because of a malicious allegation. After seven months it had just been proved to be false. When Father spoke of his joy at being able to wear a clerical collar again, it was hard not to be moved to tears.

So to a certain extent, priests will understand Fr Corapi's action in throwing over ecclesiastical discipline and leaving the priesthood. It's wrong, but we can understand. It is more difficult to understand the business of announcing this all on the internet as though it were a triumphant act of defiance. I am reminded of the line in the 1965 film, The Hill, from Regimental Sergeant Wilson (Harry Edwards): "We're not celebratin' a glorious victory 'ere. We're patchin' up a bloody disaster."

One priestly reaction is to remember that "your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet 5.8) and to plead for prayers for priests in general and Fr Corapi in particular. Fr Z hasmade this plea with eloquence and true charity. I agree with him, have been praying for Fr Corapi and urge you to do the same. At the same time, there is no alternative but to say that it is objectively wrong for him to leave his order and to leave active ministry definitively, and wrong for him to seek support for this decision by broadcasting on the internet. Some good lay bloggers have analysed his speeches and I cannot disagree with what has been written by Mark Shea, Elizabeth Scalia, and Jimmy Akin to give just three examples.

I have mentioned another important lesson for priests, especially priests who are bloggers or otherwise well-known. We need to examine our conscience seriously and regularly, and put St Charles Borromeo's motto Humilitassomewhere prominent so that we can reflect on it often. In our situation, humility is not just a pious aspiration, it is a matter of spiritual life or death.