Fr. Corapi and media’s reality distortion field
Thirty years ago someone coined the term “reality distortion field” to describe the effect on an audience when Steve Jobs made a presentation. Due to his charisma, Jobs is supposedly able to convince others of his viewpoint even when reality says otherwise. In other words, he could convince Eskimos that they need the ice-making machine he has built.
While this may or may not be true, I think there is a similar effect that occurs with every media personality. When we regularly see someone on TV, or hear him on the radio, or even read his blog, we begin to believe that we really know him personally. We believe that we have developed a relationship with this person, much like the relationships we have with our family and friends. But this is not reality: having access to someone solely via media grants us no real knowledge of a person, at least not the type of knowledge that comes from interacting with someone in person. Although we think we know him, we are in truth strangers. Of course, one can be fooled even when in close personal contact with someone, but this is much more unlikely than if our only contact is through some technological medium.
Which brings us to Fr. Corapi. As most people know by now, he has been accused of immoral behavior and has been put on administrative leave. It is also important to note that he has denied all the charges against him. What I am most surprised by, however, is how many people have strongly defended him (and attacked the accuser) in spite of only “knowing” him through his TV and radio shows. If we have learned anything over the past few years, it is that someone who is orthodox in his public preaching is not immune from personal failings and sins (which we should have known from our reading of the Bible – see St. Peter). Most of us don’t know Fr. Corapi (or the woman who is accusing him), so how can we know whether the accusation is true or not? Because he’s a good preacher?
Does this mean that whenever someone is accused of immoral behavior we should never defend him before all the facts are out? No, but it does mean that we should withhold judgement regarding people we don’t really know. If one of my good friends were accused of something like this, and he denied it, I would defend his good name until any facts contradicted his story. This is because I have built a personal trust that allows me to give him the benefit of the doubt. But if a stranger were accused and protested his innocence, I would wait until all the facts were in before forming a judgement. And in reality, Fr. Corapi is a stranger to me, as my only knowledge of him comes from seeing him on TV and hearing him on the radio. He is as much a stranger to me as the woman who made the accusations against him – so why should I assume that she is guilty (of slander)? Of course I hope and pray that the accusations are false, because if true they are a great scandal, but until the facts are out, I will simply assume that both parties – Fr. Corapi and the woman – are innocent. I realize that it is probably impossible that they are both are innocent, but I see no reason to assume guilt on the part of either party at this point.
I am disturbed by how much we Catholics have let the media influence our judgement. Just because you see someone on TV, or hear him on the radio, or read his blog, doesn’t mean you truly know them. The best reaction in these situations is not to assume guilt by either party, but to pray that the truth might come out and justice served.
Eric,
You have written a wonderful article, but in charity I feel I must inform you:
Only Steve Jobs is in possession of a Reality Distortion Field. And rightly so.
You must take your own advice and apply it to the people who defend Fr. Corapi. You don’t know anything about them either. They may well know Fr. Corapi personally. Father makes many appearances across the country and has done so for years. And many people have attended his conferences multiple times, listening to his lectures, attending Mass, talking to him personally. So don’t be so quick to judge those who defend him. And if you ever had the opportunity to see the deep, deep love and reverence this man has as he consecrates the Host, you would understand that he understands. People don’t defend him because he is charismatic, or because he is a celebrity. They defend him because they have personally seen his deep love for our Lord and our Blessed Mother – a love which, because of its depth and sincerity, is not likely to be violated.
I think I would expand the truth of what you’re saying to those of us who only know our priests from Sunday mass, and the 8 to 12 min. homily we hear from them. It’s a slight glimpse into the personality of the one preaching, but still is not a real, in-depth foundation upon which to build a relationship of complete trust.
So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work.
Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. -Philippians 2:12-15
“And if you ever had the opportunity to see the deep, deep love and reverence this man has as he consecrates the Host, you would understand that he understands.”
I would bet that he DOES understand. But good, holy people fall. Sinners don’t run around in black hats, while saints trot around in white. I knew personally a rather public Catholic layman who I came to find out had an addiction to child pornography. It was shocking. I knew that he truly believed what the Church teaches. He had a devoted prayer and sacramental life. But he fell, for a wide variety of reasons, some very deep-seated psychological ones that I could not have discerned despite the fact that I knew him personally.
If it turns out that Fr. Corapi is guilty of this accusation – and I dearly hope he is not – that will not mean that he did not “understand” – that he did not truly have right belief and a life of prayer. A fall into sin is usually a very, very complex thing – probably MORE so for a person striving to live a holy life.
May I suggest to commenters Mary that to have seen Corapi preach in a live venue, and even meriting him at a book signing, doesn’t mean that you know him or are even acquainted with him. I am sickened by the adulation and idolatry I am seeing among Catholics who by now should know better than to start extolling celebrity priests as being incapable of foxing what they’re accused of. Wait and see should be the order of the day, along with prayer. Put not you trust in princes.
“Innocent until proven guilty” and yes we should not judge the accuser until the investigation is over. What makes me angry is the church treats him as if he were guilty until the investigation is over to prove him innocent. That is not right. I expected better from the Catholic Church. Even EWTN has suspended his talks! Why? If his talks were good enough for them the last 20 years or however long it’s been, why are they no good now? Again he may be totally innocent and we are crucifying him. Didn’t the church learn anything about that when they did the same to Jesus?
Tammy, a prudential decision to pull someone’s broadcast for a time while charges are sorted out is hardly equivalent to the crucifixion of the Son of God. And the church didn’t crucify Jesus… our sins did… I think what you are trying to say is that it seems unfair to pull his show if the charges have not been proven. However, I think EWTN is wise. They can easily begin playing the show again if Fr. Corapi is cleared. Until then, I do not believe pulling the show is intended as a slap in the face. EWTN’s first responsibility is to their listeners, and I’m sure they don’t want to take the chance that they are promoting someone whom it may turn out we should not admire. Let’s say Fr. Maciel had had a radio show. How odd if it had continued being broadcast while the incriminating evidence against him had been coming to light.
Check Jimmy Akin’s blog. He posted an interesting – and highly logical – analysis which leads him to state, “I find myself squeamish wishing either grave mental illness or grave sin on another person”, referring to the two possibilities that remain if Corapi is indeed innocent. According to he treatment on the topic, the only way taht both can be innocent is if she is dillusional. The only good and true option is to pray for both fervently out of charity for their souls.
Whatever the outcome his career is virtually ruined.
I think it would be better for all if the media and the bloggers would just ignore this topic for awhile. There is a lot of interesting news around the world to discuss. Let’s switch to that.
No dig at your blog Eric. I just don’t understand why everyone finds it necessary to write about the sad situation. No one knows the “real” facts so why must everyone continue to publish on the subject? The more people write the more the individuals involved get hurt. What the church and the individuals involved need are our prayers that God’s Will be done. Maybe as a Lenten sacrifice we can offer up some prayers today for all involved.
Who is Eric Sammons? – Rene
John, people are writing about this topic because it is a shocking revelation that someone who preaches the teachings of the Catholic faith with such zeal might not be practicing what he preaches. Many might feel duped and foolish for having placed trust in him or having held him in high esteem.
Eric: While I agree with your basic premise ( since we do not know all the facts, nor do most of us have a working relationship with the principals, we should with-hold any pre-judging of the case) it gives me pause that this same premise does not seem to apply to writers of many of the other ” Catholic ” bloggers. Their blogs seeem written from the premise to incite the worst in their commenters by making much of the innuendo and implied sense of guilt on Father’s part….all the while damming him with not so “faint praise”! It seems to be the opinion expressed by most of them that he
put himself up on a pedestal and made himself a target. And this is one of the “nicer” things that they in their articles imply. I even have a sense of it here (e.g. why in red and underlined the volatile words: he has been accused of immoral behavior and put on Administrative Leave )though you are quite mild compared to say The Anchoress,and her side-kick, that nasty Mark OShea…and Deacon Kendra, who seems to take delight in the fact that he was the FIRST to pick this up off Father’s website and which he brought to our attention!! Three cheers and Budweiser for him!! Just wondering why the double standard! Hmmm?? Any ideas??? And why by innuedo do you compare Father’s holy vocation with that of a snake-oil salesman in the form of the salesman trying to sell refidgerators to Eskimos? Care to explain????
I agree. I think we should withhold judgment and wait for the facts and the investigation to complete before we start trumpeting judgment one way or the other. Let me state this again: BEFORE WE JUDGE ANYTHING, we MUST wait for the Church to release the facts and the results of the investigation. And, if the charges are true, I also believe that Fr. Corapi should answer for them. I stand 100% with that statement.
One point needs to be made that many are missing:
IF the allegations are found to be false, AND IF the person/persons who made them did so out of spite, or in an effort to extort money, etc, IE they don’t have serious mental issues which render them to be less culpable for their actions, then IN THAT CASE, the accuser/accusers should be publically humiliated, financially destroyed in the court system and, if possible, full criminal charges should be pushed against them to the fullest extent allowed by law, where applicable.
“Oh Mike! That’s SOOOO un Jesus-like of you!!!” I know some will say. Well, there is one thing I can tell you about people that react like that at once: They have never been falsely charged with anything serious in their entire lives.
There is something about charges like this that most people don’t seem to understand: Even if shown to be totally false, your character and name are marred in a way that will NEVER go away. This isn’t true with ever form of lie about someone. For an example, let’s say you were involved in a traffic accident and the other driver was obviously at fault. The other driver though, swears up and down that you crossed the center line and struck him, and that YOU are to blame. All evidence and investigation points the other way, however, and you are exonerated. That will be the end of it. It won’t last 10 seconds in the mind of anyone who hears the story.
HOWEVER.
Let’s say that your neighbor accuses of molesting his young son and files a complaint. An investigation is made and, when evidence is against the claim of your neighbor, the accusation is dismissed. But it doesn’t matter. You neighborhood knows what you were accused of. Sure they know the charges were dropped. But, hey, what if, you know, there just wasn’t ENOUGH to charge you for it or something… is what many will start to think. In short, you don’t have to be guilty to be harmed, even SERIOUSLY harmed, by an accusation of certain magnitude.
As another example, how many of you have heard the FACT that Pius XII was a Nazi sympathizer? Oh, what’s that you say? It’s been proven to be false? Really? That’s not what most people you will meet say. They KNOW that he was a supporter of the Nazis. In short, it won’t really matter what the facts are.
Another point touches on the consequences of the charges. Let’s understand one thing: people who make false claims relating to the SERIOUS types of issues we are discussing, particularly anything related to sex or race, are TRYING to get an innocent person to suffer the consequences of this crime either out of spite, or they are using the threat of it as a way to extort money from the victim. This sort of thing MUST be punished. When it is not, it is only encouraged. And why not? It could be likened to a casino slot machine that costs nothing to play, you lose nothing if it doesn’t come up with cherries, but if by some chance you hit cherries, the payoff is VERY nice…
These situations I describe get my blood up VERY quickly, because I have been the victim of them (or rather, almost the victim of them) before. Quick story: I own some rental houses. One popular house I had came open and I had several applications. I selected the best applicant and rented the house. One of the refused applicants filed an official complaint of racial discrimination in housing, a VERY serious issue for those of you who don’t know, one that could potentially bankrupt and ruin me. The charge was false, obviously and documentable. Not only was the applicant lying, but she lied about things her own documentation showed to be false. My attorney handled the problem and she quickly dropped the charge.
All’s well, right? No, actually. I had quite a bit of expense in dealing with that, as you know attorneys aren’t cheap. The applicant incurred no cost accept the time to fill out an official government complaint. Per the government office I had to deal with, there would be no repercussions for the deliberate, false, and potentially ruinous complaint the applicant filed. Further, I could take no action as state law expressly forbids going after them for this slander. Per my attorney, and even hinted at by the sympathetic official in the department I dealt with, the applicant thought I was a bigger company and was simply trying to extort money. There were no consequences for the applicant. She will probably try it again. Why not, it’s free and there are no consequences and the potential payoff is huge.
By not punishing such things, we simply encourage them.
IF the charges against Fr. Corapi turn out to be false and done in malice, the accuser MUST BE PUNISHED. Forgiven? Yes. BUT STILL PUNISHED.
But I imagine that my words here will be ignored as horribly un-Christlike and non-forgiving by those who never in their lives have, and I hope to God ever do, suffer a situation like that. I’m sure I will convince no one.
Until, of course, that letter arrives in the mail notifying you that you are being officially accused of something VERY SERIOUS that you are totally innocent of. If that happens, you had better hope and pray you have all the documentation and, more importantly, the money to fight it off, and even if you do, hope to not suffer too badly from the stain it will leave on your reputation regardless.
I think you are wrong on a several points. For one thing, you do know Fr. Corapi frm his appearances and you don’t know the woman accusing him because her identity has not been disclosed. Second you day you would defend a friend “you know” but in point of fact no one knows another person so well as to know what he or she might be capable of when they are away from us. Third, as a American, you natural sentiment should be to believe a person innocent until he/she is proved guilty. Fourth, as a Catholic it is not your right or privelege to judge him/her period. That being said it would be better for bloggers to just shut up and let the process work its duty to determine in so far as possible the truth. At this point we do not know what this woman means by drug addiction or sexual exploits and we dare not presume that her definition is our own. Find another topic and deal with it.
Might I say one reason why this subject matter has spread all over the internet is that Fr. Corapiopened up that can of worms when he placed it on his website – prior to the statement issued by his Superiors. In accordance w/their statement and that of the Bishop of Corpus Christi, this matter was to be resolved internally since it had none of the requirements for a larger public scrutiny, i.e, criminal, etc. Fr. Corapi himself opened up the can of worms to such ongoing speculation and controversy by his rush to judgement against the validity of the workings of the Church to which he is subject by a vow of obedience. He also muddied the torrents of the endless and rushing “waters” the internet by his comments re the allegations. It seems to me that like the Bishop and his Superiors he should have let it remain an internal investigation regardless of his feelings as any religious should recognize, and refer it to God alone and not to his website and all the media traffic that is aroused.
I agree with Sam. I don’t know why Fr. Corapi had to rush the gun and open himself up to all this speculation. We didn’t have to know anything about this, until the investigation was over.
It takes only one accusative letter for the enemy to show its true face…. May God bless you all
Eric, There’s one big hole in your analogy re: judging Fr Corapi vs. a friend of yours: Priests in this country are automatically guilty until proven innocent. Period. I know that’s not what the bishops would say or Corapi’s superior but the net effect of removing him from office/curtailing his faculties etc is to damage/curtail his ministry. I have a son & 2 brothers who are priests. Moreover, they are priests who preach & live the teachings of the Catholic Church. They walk around everyday with targets on their backs due to this fact; mainly from disgruntled persons afflicted with some strain of Pelvic Obsessive Disorder & so have a grudge against the Church.
My point is that your analogy doesn’t work in this discussion because, no matter how well every person ‘knew’ Corapi, he’d still be in the same situation canonically.
I know Fr. Corapi. Met him on several occasions, served Mass for him, ate with him. He IS the person we see on TV. I bought a good bit of stuff off his website after this story broke, in order to show my support!!!
Mary,
Just because some people have seen Fr. Corapi in person and maybe even spoken to him for a few seconds doesn’t mean they “know” him. The people blindly defending him would say they knew him if they did. Also, just because someone acts reverently at mass doesn’t mean they are incapable of sin, even serious sin. Wake up, Mary.
I would like to point out that I frequently meet many middle aged hens whose existence centers around doing work for/infiltrating the Catholic Church. Very often these women are far from being Christian and they on power trips. They and also psychologically unstable. Many have been known to wear revealing outfits and like to seduce priests. I would not be surprised if this former employee of Fr. Corapi fell for him and was enraged when he spurned her advances.
As the mother of a good priest, I beg you to please understand that every priest makes enemies. If a priest is falsely accused his vocation is as badly injured as if he were actually guilty. Because of the abuse scandal, too many are ready to assume that if accused, the priest must be guilty! I’ve seen it happen and when the allegations fade away his priestly vocation has been dragged through the mud and euthanized. What if it happened to you in a secular job? How would you like being accused and condemned even before an investigation?
@Mary – “You must take your own advice and apply it to the people who defend Fr. Corapi. You don’t know anything about them either. They may well know Fr. Corapi personally. Father makes many appearances across the country and has done so for years. And many people have attended his conferences multiple times, listening to his lectures, attending Mass, talking to him personally.”
@Christopher – “I know Fr. Corapi. Met him on several occasions, served Mass for him, ate with him. He IS the person we see on TV.”
Having met someone, even multiple times, and even having shared a meal or several with them, is not nearly the same as knowing them. Perhaps a few of the commenters Eric refers to do indeed know Fr. Corapi; however, I suspect the number is VERY few – and those that did would most likely have indicated such in order to validate their comments.
Some seem to insist that we shouldn’t be so vigorous in defending Fr Corapi, nor should we support his assertion that the investigative system is flawed.
I think these views quite hazardous for a simple reason:
I don’t think many people realize how much harassment and contempt we’ve forced our priests to accept.
Through my college career, I noticed that many factions wishl for society at large to redefine morality so as to officially approve of homosexual acts, “open sexuality” between men and women, and various other sinful behaviors. They’d be quite excited to see priests and many courageous laity thrown in jail and/or silenced permanently.
In the wake of the sex abuse scandals, I’ve long feared that we might actually subject our priests to wholly unfair scrutiny, precisely to satisfy the attitudes of those who wish to ignore Catholic teaching and execute a witch hunt.
I wonder if many bishops realized that, by being so “obvious and open” about killing sex abuse, they’ve opened the door wide for massive persecution?
If many of us have been vigorous in defending Fr Corapi, perhaps it’s because we’re VERY concerned about whether he CAN receive a fair hearing.
Considering the state of the nation’s law AND the attitudes of many women, even in the Catholic Church, I’m not certain I trust the investigators.
Too much reason to sacrifice one prominent priest to satisfy a hungry wolf pack.
LEVANTAN CALUMNIA ENCONTTRA DEL PADRE CORAPI….PARA CALLARLO… UN DIA COMO HOY EN EL SALVADOR….ASESINARON EL PADRE ROMERO PARA CALLARLO… HOY EN ESTS SANTO DIA LEVANTO BANDERA PARA PELEAR EN NOMBRE DE JESUCRISTO POR LA ABSOLUTA VERDAD !!!!!GUSTELE A QUIEN NO LE GUSTE…LUZ MARIA
Eric, how well do you know your friend? You mean he’s expressed his faith to you – to a level that Corapi has?
You mean you know if he were having an affair or molesting his kids, your friend would tell you?
I say, people know Corapi better than they know their friends – at least they know where Corapi stands on a host of deep issues – but we don’t know ANYONE’s failings.
So, would you still defend your friend?
Would you write an article about him and use his name in your blog – is that defending him or bringing further scandal upon your “friend”, Father Corapi.
The faithful must constantly be prepared for even their most trusted and admired brothers or sisters to fail them. Adulation of another human being is an insult to God, and an insult to the man in question whose teaching would warn against such avid trust in anyone other than God.
We are unaware of the facts. We are aware that this is a painful time for all involved, regardless of the validity of the accusations. Love, Christ-like forgiveness and ongoing vigilant examinations of our own consciences are a few of the only things that should be certain at this time.
Trust God to make the lemonade.
not sure if it has been posted, but here it is, EWTN statement:
Official EWTN Statement Regarding Fr.John Corapi Dear EWTN Family:
We are aware that many of our supporters are disappointed in EWTN’s decision to remove Father John Corapi’s programs from the Network during his administrative leave. We too are greatly disappointed that EWTN had to make this difficult decision. We can assure you that it was made with much prayer and careful discernment.
The fact is that Father John’s own religious community has placed him on administrative leave and his capacity to function publicly as a priest has been suspended during the investigation of the charges against him. This was officially communicated to all of the bishops of the country in a statement saying that, “…Fr. Corapi has been placed on administrative leave and has had all of his priestly faculties removed.”
In EWTN’s thirty years of existence, the Network has never knowingly aired programming featuring any priest whose priestly faculties have been suspended. The Network has always responded consistently and immediately in such situations by removing such programs from the air. We are obliged to do so in obedience to the discipline of the Church.
Father John has long been a friend of EWTN and many of us have worked closely with him throughout the years. He is a tremendously gifted preacher who has led many souls to Christ. We are doing exactly as he has asked and supporting him and everyone involved in the situation in the best way possible, through our prayers.
It is also our prayer that this matter will be brought to a speedy resolution so that Father John’s programs can be returned to the airwaves.
Thank you for your understanding. May God bless you.
Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/#ixzz1HWPXHFBc
I think it was better for Fr. Corapi to post what he posted on his website and come out swinging. We’re a little shell-shocked from the Euteneuer stuff, we know, but that one was hushed up at least for awhile, and it was not good. Fr. Corapi is a man of the world and he knows how it operates. He probably knows better than a lot of us do how to handle it. I’m glad he came out swinging.
I agree with your article. While I do hope and pray that the charges are false against Fr. Corpi, I cannot rush to condemn his accuser. Unfortunately, I know of first hand experience that his order is very troubled. And I understand that you can still be a member of an organization that is going down the tubes while you are a light to the world. We must withhold judgment of either party, and pray for both.
Right on, Mike, my thoughts exactly…I’ve known a few women like you describe, in my lifetime of 81 years…truly a disgrace to their womanhood…so obviously trying to seduce a priest, of all things! Disgusting and demonic, in my opinion. Anyway, the woman in this case was apparently an employee of Santa Cruz Media, according to Bobbi Ruffato, Vice President of Operations, SCM, and she “lost her job” there…(you know some people have been known to kill for being fired)…and in her anger she assaulted Bobbi and vowed to destroy Father Corapi. He is probably their biggest customer, and by destroying his reputation, it could kill their business. Bobbi is an eye witness to the situation and she is also a victim of that woman’s wrath. If I were a woman determined to bring down a popular and world renowned priest like Father Corapi, how hard would it be to make up a tale of sexual exploits and drug use, particularly when he had been there and done that as a young man sewing his wild oats…and spoke of it openly and freely in some of his lectures to show how merciful and forgiving God is and that a sinner can be saved…and even become a priest. Look at St. Augustine, for goodness sake. He persecuted and killed Christians as Saul, and when God struck him down, he saw the light and changed his ways…he became St. Augustine and one of the most renowned Doctors of the Church. Fr. Corapi admitted to being the worst of the worst. Only an evil person would captitalize on such an admission and use it to no good purpose. Maybe it was all just too tantalizing to pass up and it provided her with a way to get even. Anyway, I’m sure the truth will prevail. I pray for a quick resolution to this ordeal because we need a priest like Father Corapi in this day and time with the world in chaos and our country on the brink of disaster. We have to return God to his rightful place in our Nation and our lives if we are to emerge victorious in battling the forces of evil. WE ARE A CHRISTIAN NATION after all, and we will use the tools Father gave us to fight the good fight in the battle with the devil for our souls. He is the voice in the wilderness with the courage to lead us in that spiritual war.
This matter is deeply distressing to those of us who believe that Fr. Corapi is a wonderful priest. From what I have read thus far, there are two people who were both assaulted by Father’s accuser and who also testify that this person threatened to “destroy” him. It does not sound like these accusations are being made by a reasonable person, which makes the situation even more difficult, however, The law (whether civil or canon law) should never be an accomplice to malice. I pray that charity and justice, together, will find the truth while there is yet time for healing.
I may not know him personally but I know he has a strong Catholic message that is consistent with Holy Mother Church. I also know my dear recently departed father who battled alcohol addiction carried his addiction video everywhere and shared Father’s video with many of his friends. I would like to encourage everyone to step up if Father Corapi has made a difference in their lives!
I think that you must assume Father Corapi innocent till proven guilty, I am sure that some who are defending him, do know him. The Catechism of The Catholic Church is very clear about defaming the character of others. I find it odd that many are making insinations based on what they have heard.
I do agree however that many, not all, do base their relationship soley with someone they have only seen on TV, that is just the culture we live in. I think that Father John Corapi has done much good, and has inspired many people to return to the Church. No matter what the out come, I will always love Father John Corapi for the good he as done. We should pray for him, and not be so harsh, or use this as a form of meaningless gossip!
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