“There seems to no longer be the need for a complaint to be deemed 'credible' in order for Church authorities to pull the trigger on the Church’s procedure,” he said on his website.
Although he is not being accused of misconduct related to minors, Fr. Corapi added that “it seems, once again, that they now don’t have to deem the complaint to be credible or not, and it is being applied broadly to respond to all complaints.”
“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.”
“The resultant damage to the accused is immediate, irreparable, and serious, especially for someone like myself, since I am so well known,” he said.
“I am not alone in this assessment, as multiple canon lawyers and civil and criminal attorneys have stated publicly that the procedure does grave damage to the accused from the outset, regardless of rhetoric denying this, and has little regard for any form of meaningful due process,” Fr. Corapi added.
“All of the allegations in the complaint are false, and I ask you to pray for all concerned,” he said.
The Diocese of Corpus Christi, where the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity's mother house is located, said that although the case is outside its jurisdiction – given that Fr. Corapi is not a priest of the diocese – making the assumption that he is guilty of the allegations “is definitely not in order.”
“Fr. Corapi has done many great things – he should be presumed innocent of these allegations until proven otherwise,” Marty Wynd, director of communications told CNA in a March 21 phone interview.
“There's so many great priests who've done great things,” he added. “We have to be very, very careful here, and not presume any kind of guilt.”
Fr. Sheehan noted that the situation will now be “investigated internally, and unless and until information suggests otherwise it will not be referred to civil authorities.”
“In the event that we learn of any occasion where the criminal civil law may have been breached we will immediately refer the matter to civil authorities,” he added.
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Marianne is a journalist with a background in writing and Catholic theology. When not elaborating on the cinematic arts, she enjoys spending time with people, reading thick books and traveling anywhere and everywhere.