Those who know Father Corapi are many and these many have been rocked by allegations of impropriety on his part by a former employee in a story that broke late last week. Emotions are playing a major role in reactions to the news, with some unreasonably insisting that the accusations must be false. All, I hope, are praying that they are not true.Meanwhile, finding a dispassionate observer is difficult. I offer a link here to commentary on the story by Greg Kandra, a journalist and Catholic deacon from Brooklyn.
Father Who? Why Corapi Matters
What seemed "The Most Important Story in the Catholic Universe" to some is causing nary a ripple in the lives of other Catholics, but in another sense, it concerns the whole Body of Christ.
Since Saturday, the blogosphere has been crackling with the sensational news that Fr. John Corapi—renowned speaker, televangelist, and a "star" at EWTN—has been placed on "administrative leave." Corapi's own website broke the story Friday night with the headline "A Call for Prayer," explaining that a female former employee had accused him of "everything from drug addiction to multiple sexual exploits"—all allegations that the priest says are false.
Well. The news quickly spread from my blog to others, darting through Twitter feeds and Facebook postings and chatrooms, ricocheting from computer screen to laptop like an Angry Bird breaking through bricks. I was stunned at the fevered reaction and at what some commenters had to say about it.
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Photo: Deacon Greg Kandra is a Roman Catholic Deacon serving the Diocese of Brooklyn, NY, and an award-winning journalist. He blogs at The Deacon's Bench.