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	The Scandal Snares Fr. Corapi The Phillyburbs April 3, 2011 http://www.phillyburbs.com/blogs/news_columnists/jd_mullane/the-scandal-snares-fr-corapi/article_d194ed92-c98c-5a6b-bcb2-11dffb52769f.html The sexual scandals roiling the ranks of American Catholic priests this Lenten season has snagged the church's biggest TV and radio evangelist, the Rev. John Corapi. Father Corapi was placed on "administrative leave" after an ex-employee of his small media company sent a three-page letter to his bishop alleging that Corapi had engaged in sexual affairs with women and is also a drug abuser. It's a stunner for Corapi's fans. The priest's powerful conversion story - from wealthy California real estate broker to drug addict to vagrant to priest ordained by Pope John Paul II - is the stuff of Hollywood film. With his ex-military persona and baritone, no nonsense lectures on traditional Catholic catechism, Corapi has won legions of fans, but also many enemies especially from Catholics who prefer social justice sloganeering to faith and practice. "It's really a shock what's happened to Father," said Jim Manfredonia of Fairless Hills who, with his wife, Cheryl, has been friends with Corapi for years. The couple hosted the priest four times at Lenten lectures in Bucks County - three times at Queen of the Universe Church in Levittown between 2000 and 2002, and then at the Our Lady of Czestochowa Shrine in Doylestown, when crowds grew too large at Queen. "Last October, we had him at the Prudential Center in Newark and 8,000 people showed up," Manfredonia said. Corapi's sudden suspension was triggered by the "Dallas Charter," adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002 to deal with priests accused of sexually abusing children. Pending investigation, the charter essentially sacks a priest from ministry. Corapi, on his website, criticized the handling of his case under the Dallas rules, which have apparently been expanded to include all tawdry accusations, credible or not. "I'll certainly cooperate with the process, but personally believe that it is seriously flawed, and is tantamount to treating the priest as guilty 'just in case', then through the process determining if he is innocent," Corapi wrote. "The resultant damage to the accused is immediate, irreparable, and serious, especially for someone like myself, since I am so well known." Corapi, 63, is a member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity, based in Texas. He burst on the scene in the mid-1990s on EWTN, the global Catholic media network, which broadcast his lectures on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which sets and explains the rubrics of the faith. Until Corapi's case is resolved, EWTN has removed him from its lineup. The Manfredonias, who own and operate two Catholic radio stations through their Domestic Church Media (WFJS 1260 AM) have also stopped broadcasting his lectures, a move Jim Manfredonia said honors church canon law. "Father Corapi is the most popular show we have, but it's in keeping with obedience to the church that we suspend the programs until the investigation is complete. Father is cooperating with the investigation, too, but I think it shows that there's a problem with these accusations, how easily good priests can be caught up," he said. "Sometimes priests are asked to suffer. The policy applied to father does not assume guilt, but it implies guilt. "The policy the bishops have in place is to appropriately deal with crimes against children," Manfredonia said. "I think if the policy is applied to those cases, absolutely it's appropriate to suspend. But this situation, it's not that. It's a claim of sexual misconduct with adult women. It's not a crime, it's a sin. "If it happened, then it's behavior unbecoming of a priest. We know father personally and have had eight conferences with him personally, and he's a fighter. If these allegations were true, he would admit his failures, openly. I have no doubt about that. Even if the accusations are true, it does not diminish the truth of what he teaches from the Catechism, or the Catechism's power, if preached with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to draw people back to the church. "We're all sinners," Manfredonia said. "We all fail at times. We seek forgiveness and we move on."
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