First of all, it should be noted that Santa Cruz Media isn't an unbiased party in this matter. As will be seen from this statement, Santa Cruz Media stands to lose a lot of revenue in the short term if Fr. Corapi's administrative leave and suspension of priestly faculties is a long one, and in the long run if it's permanent. This doesn't mean that I believe Ruffatto is being willfully dishonest or otherwise, but I definitely think he's got his eye firmly fixed on the bottom line. Fr. Corapi merchandise is the only product that Santa Cruz Media sells.
Santa Cruz Media, Inc. is the owner of all of Fr. John Corapi’s intellectual property and the DVDs, CDs, and books that flow from it. [Which means they stand to lose everything.] We are a secular corporation and not affiliated with the Catholic Church in any way. As such, we are not under the jurisdiction of any bishop or other official in the Catholic Church, although we have the utmost respect for Church authority. [What is being said without saying it is they will continue to sell Fr. Corapi merchandise, which, admittedly, is their business entirely. EWTN has come to a different conclusion for much more virtuous and prudent reasons.]
We fully support Rev. John Corapi in this terrible trial, not surprisingly having begun on Ash Wednesday. Through the sacrifice and struggle of the desert and all of the dark moments that this entails, we are confident that the glory of the risen Lord will shine forth from the power of the Resurrection and Easter. [I think this is a good reflection, and one that everyone, not just Fr. Corapi, should benefit from. However, it should be noted that not everyone in the Bible was happy with the events of Easter morning, and used duplicity and rumors to explain away the Resurrection.]
We have consulted with a number of canon lawyers. They have assured us that the actions of the Bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas are, on several points of canon law, illicit. [OK. So who were these canon lawyers, and what were their arguments? We aren't told. No arguments are presented. Why should I trust Santa Cruz Media's word about canon law?] It is our fervent hope that The Dallas Charter will be changed because of false accusations like this. [Hold on! How do we know they are false without any investigation having been done? Are we to conclude that they are false just because Fr. Corapi and Santa Cruz Media say they are? This is rather incredible. Whether or not you agree or disagree with the Dallas Charter, a religious superior or bishop has the right and duty to suspend priestly faculties for the good of the faithful. Of course, the priest has a right to appeal, but that doesn't mean individual priests have the ability to litigate with their superiors, especially when the salvation of souls is in question. They have the obligation to be reasonably obedient to their superiors. Given what the Church has had to endure for the last 10 years, it is perfectly reasonable to place a priest on administrative leave while the investigation proceeds.] There is no evidence at this time that Fr. Corapi did anything wrong, only the unsubstantiated rant of a former employee, who, after losing her job with this office, physically assaulted me and another employee and promised to “destroy” Father Corapi. We all continue to pray for this person, and we ask you to do the same. [I think this is saying too much to the general public. I heard this exact same rumor in a message sent to me on Facebook. It was nearly verbatim with Ruffatto's account, which makes me wonder if it was from the same source. The short of it, I deleted that message, and refused to share its contents because in my opinion it would be detraction to do so. Of course, Ruffatto is free to reveal whatever he wants, but I think he should take care when attacking another person's character publicly. This is something he should definitely reveal to those investigating this matter, but not something he should have thrown out to the general public. It makes me suspect that he is trying to manipulate public opinion, which in turn will influence the investigation.]
We sincerely believe that the work Fr. Corapi has done is of greatest value to the Church, hence hated by the devil. [There are also things he said that the devil likes; for example, Fr. Corapi riled against the Traditional Latin Mass on more than one occasion.] We fully intend to make Fr. Corapi’s material available as a service to the Church and the world for as long as we possibly can. [A more explicit admission than what they offered above about the continued sale of Corapi merchandise. If the investigation ends and Fr. Corapi remains suspended, what then? I have this suspicion that they will keep on selling it.]
The Church provides no financial support to Fr. Corapi. He has to pay for his own legal representation, medical costs, food, housing, etc. We have never accepted donations or charitable contributions of any kind. We are supporting Father’s efforts to defend himself. Your purchase of products from Santa Cruz Media helps provide the funding for Father’s continued work as well as the legal expenses he continues to incur as a result of these malicious allegations. [I think it is probably one of the most disingenuous marketing pitches I've heard in a long time. "Fr. Corapi has no other financial support than what he gets from us selling these products, so come on and buy them!" What?? Talk about capitalizing on a tragedy! I'm very disappointed by this statement from Ruffatto. I would call it stupid if I didn't think that right now hundreds of Corapi fans are clicking away on their Santa Cruz Media shopping carts.
By the way, isn't Fr. Corapi well off financially? Didn't he recently win a multi-million dollar law suit? Oh yes! He did. He was awarded $2,712,281 for his role as a whistleblower in a false claims lawsuit against Redding Medical Center in 2007, and was awarded another $500,000 in an insurance case. No, Mr. Ruffatto, I think Fr. Corapi should be able to meet his expenses just fine.]
Father Corapi and all of us here at Santa Cruz Media, Inc. greatly appreciate your kindness, support, and prayers. Please continue to pray for Father Corapi and his accuser, as well as all priests who find themselves in this unfortunate situation.
Sincerely [hmm] yours in Christ,
Bobbi Ruffatto
Vice President of Operations [Full disclosure, because you won't get it from Ruffatto: Fr. John Corapi is the founder and President of Operations for Santa Cruz Media, Inc.]
Santa Cruz Media, Inc.
I'm primarily concerned here by the continued attack on Fr. Corapi's superior, and especially the bishop of Corpus Christi, Mulvey. There's a lack of both humility and obedience on the part of Fr. Corapi for publicly lashing out at his superiors, which I've already mentioned on this blog. Making the claim that a bishop acted illicitly, but then not following that up with a reasonable argument as to why they believe the bishop's action was illicit, is intellectually dishonest, and I think it's manipulative.
Secondly, I'm disgusted by Ruffatto's naked marketing scheme to capitalize on this tragedy by insinuating that the sales of Corapi merchandise is the only source of financial assistance for Fr. Corapi. In fact, Fr. Corapi is independently wealthy, or at least should be, after his multi-million dollar award for being a whistleblower in a medical false claims suit.
Thirdly, while I certainly wouldn't want to hang my hat on the accuser's coat peg, I definitely think Ruffatto's statement is insincere and even duplicitous. There's more going on here than the public knows, and I think this something more that we don't know is the real reason why Fr. Corapi has been placed on administrative leave and why his priestly faculties have been suspended. I'm not saying Fr. Corapi has necessarily done anything wrong, and I still think this will be resolved in Fr. Corapi's favor. However, perhaps he has gotten involved with not a few crooked people looking to make a quick buck on the backs of sincere Catholics starving for the truth.
Which brings me to my last point, which is apropos to this blog. Neo-cons lack, due to the shallow and spiritually arid nature of the novus ordo liturgy and the rampant Modernism and liberalism in the Church, any significant spiritual depth. As a result, neo-cons have a tendency to latch on to anything that seems to provide a greater degree of spiritual depth than they typically find in the novus ordo establishment parish. This searching for depth explains things like the Medugorje fraud. It also explains why so many mainstream Catholics seem to need celebrity priests like Fr. Corapi. One of Fr. Corapi's supporters had this to say on Facebook: "Fr. Corapi is the truth."
Truth is a Man, but He isn't Fr. Corapi. For a Catholic to identify the incarnate truth as someone other than Our Blessed Lord, Jesus Christ, speaks volumes about all that is wrong in the Church today, and speaks more against Fr. Corapi and his ministry than any sex scandal could.
Wow! For someone who is worried about detraction against an anonymous accuser, you sure don't mind committing detraction against Fr. Corapi and the members of Santa Cruz Media. What about your statement above:
ReplyDelete"The short of it, I deleted that message, and refused to share its contents because in my opinion it would be detraction to do so. Of course, Ruffatto is free to reveal whatever he wants, but I think he should take care when attacking another person's character publicly."
That's exactly what your post does, much by innuendo. Do you know what Fr. Corapi did with the money from the lawsuit? Perhaps he turned it over to his order. You are quick with the assumptions and perhaps should follow your own advice about detraction.
I have no horse in this race. I have never attended a lecture by Fr. Corapi or purchased any of his materials. But I am disgusted by the determination of some to find him guilty 1) because he was accused and 2) because his apostolate makes money. Sounds like rash judgment and envy to me.
Mary Ann, it is apparent that you don't know what detraction is. I will do a separate post defining what it is, and after that I will come back here and explain why I'm not guilty of it.
ReplyDeleteI will say this for now, Mary Ann, you are being a hypocrite.
You first state that I'm committing the sin of detraction because I'm criticizing in this post both Fr. Corapi and Bobbi Ruffatto. You accuse me of using innuendo. I'm not.
I'm criticizing Fr. Corapi and Ruffatto, out right, without innuendo:
1. Fr. Corpai and Ruffatto are behaving in a way that seems both disobedient and prideful.
2. Suggesting that the sales of Fr. Corapi merchandise is the only means of subsistence for Fr. Corpai and the only way for Corapi to meet (unspecified) legal expenses seems to me, given Fr. Corapi's recent multi-million dollar windfall, makes this suggestion seem like a sleazy marketing scheme.
Now you call these criticisms detraction. Fine. That's because you don't know what detraction is.
But, then you go on to use inneundo to accuse me of first claiming that he is guilty because he was accused (which I've actually done the exact opposite on both my posts about this sad turn of events). Then you accuse me, by innuendo once again, of the cardinal sin of envy because Fr. Corapi and Santa Cruz Media makes money off of a ministry. God help me if I make a profit on this blog!!
On both scores you wrong because you are ignorant. You don't know me, and, therefor, you are certainly not in a position to judge me. Secondly, you are ignorant of what detraction is.
Mary Ann, you are free to comment directly about my criticisms of Fr. Corapi's and Bobbi Ruffatto's statements. You can disagree.
However, I will not allow you post another ignorant comment about the state of my soul on my blog.
God bless!
What a disturbing attitude, David.
ReplyDeleteYou seem more motivated by envy of Fr. Corapi's success than by concern that an innocent man--one who has done much good for the Church and for his fellow man--is being unjustly accused and destroyed.
Your reaction is, frankly, repellent. As for me, I'm going to wait and see what happens. It's no more impossible that Fr. Corapi should sin than it is that I would...or you. So despite the fact that the accusations seem very dubious indeed, I'm going to be patient and wait for the investigation.
As you should have. The attitude displayed on this page--towards both Fr. Corapi and also Mary Ann--is simply disgraceful.
I'm not addressing the accusations that led to Fr. Corapi's administrative leave and suspension. However, I am, apparently, committing the cardinal sin of saying anything critical about Fr. John Corapi. It's becoming apparent by looking at the comboxes on this blog and elsewhere, that Fr. Corapi supporters will stoop to the most disgusting depths of depravity to silence his critics.
ReplyDeleteThis is the second time I've been accused of envy. Why would I be envious of a neo-con priest? Like I told Mary Ann, Paul, such an accusation demonstrates that you are ignorant. Like Mary Ann, you don't know me, yet you slander me only because I dared to write something negative about a person you people treat like a cult leader.
Like I told Mary Ann, I will not tolerate another ignorant comment. Any further baseless accusations about me will be deleted.
I've seen this on other blogs that have dared to question the integrity of Fr. Corapi's public comments and the statement from Santa Cruz Media. People commenting on those other blogs have hypocritically attacked the bloggers for criticizing Fr. Corapi's and Ruffatto's public statement. Bloggers have criticized those statements for good reason: the statements demonstrate pride and a lack of obedience, and, not to mention, Ruffatto's statement contains a sleazy marketing scheme.
I've witnessed self-professed Corapi crusaders attempting to bully bloggers into silence by hurling insults and baseless, ignorant, character attacks just because bloggers have dared to criticize Fr. Corapi. It is as though there is a concerted effort on the part of a large group of people to willfully misrepresent and attack those who express concern regarding Fr. John Corapi's conduct. Sorry, Paul, it is you, and people like you who are the repellent ones in this unfortunate internet squabble, that was started, not by the critics, but by Fr. Corapi and Bobbi Ruffatto.
If you would now like to address the actual criticisms presented in the above post, please go ahead. You can disagree with them if you like.