John Corapi

John Anthony Corapi (born May 20, 1947), formerly known as Fr. John Corapi, is an inactive Catholic priest of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (S.O.L.T.) in the United States. He was popular in the early 2000s for his regular appearances on Catholic television and his syndicated daily Catholic radio show. He published instructional media including books, DVDs, and websites, and made speaking appearances throughout the world. In 2005, Corapi was awarded US$2.7 million for his role as a whistleblower in a qui tam False Claims Act lawsuit against Redding Medical Center in California. This resulted in an overall US$24 million payment to defrauded patients. In 2011, Corapi was removed by his order from public ministry as a priest following allegations of misconduct, which he denied. By 2012, his website and his accounts on Facebook and Twitter had been closed. As of 2021, no official information is available about John Corapi's activity, such as whether he was laicized or whether he is still affiliated with his order. In 2021, Matt C.…

John Anthony Corapi (born May 20, 1947), formerly known as Fr. John Corapi, is an inactive Catholic priest of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (S.O.L.T.) in the United States. He was popular in the early 2000s for his regular appearances on Catholic television and his syndicated daily Catholic radio show. He published instructional media including books, DVDs, and websites, and made speaking appearances throughout the world. In 2005, Corapi was awarded US$2.7 million for his role as a whistleblower in a qui tam False Claims Act lawsuit against Redding Medical Center in California. This resulted in an overall US$24 million payment to defrauded patients. In 2011, Corapi was removed by his order from public ministry as a priest following allegations of misconduct, which he denied. By 2012, his website and his accounts on Facebook and Twitter had been closed. As of 2021, no official information is available about John Corapi's activity, such as whether he was laicized or whether he is still affiliated with his order. In 2021, Matt C. Abbott posted an update quoting the Catholic lay evangelist and author Jesse Romero as saying that in 2016, Romero had unofficially been told by S.O.L.T.'s then-superior general that Corapi had "reconciled with his order", "was living the life of a monk in a monastery", was practicing "full-time prayer and penance", "had medical problems", and "will never speak in public again—by his choice and his superior’s choice as well." ==Life== ===Early years=== Corapi was born and grew up in Hudson, New York. In high school, he was an American football player and an undistinguished student. In 1965, he entered the State University of New York at Albany, but returned to Hudson after academic difficulties. ===Military service=== Corapi joined the United States Army on April 16, 1967, serving as a clerk and typist. He was discharged in January 1970. He has said that he enlisted to join the Special Forces but was injured before completing his training. ===Religious conversion=== Corapi spent three years wandering the streets of Los Angeles as a vagrant following his mental breakdown. His mother sent him a prayer card with the Hail Mary prayer and asked him to pray it once a day. He eventually changed his life, escaping homelessness and illicit sex and drugs. His mother sent him an airline ticket to New York, and he returned home. He lived with his mother for some time and returned to the practice of the Catholic faith after a conversion experience on June 24, 1984, making his first confession in several years. He later told his story in a series of sermons called "The Darkness Will Not Prevail". Corapi entered Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Connecticut, in 1986 and earned an M.A. in Sacred Scripture. He joined the missionary community the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity and on May 26, 1990, was ordained a deacon by René Henry Gracida, Bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas. He earned an S.T.B. degree from the University of Navarre in Pamplona, Spain. ===Priesthood=== On Trinity Sunday, May 26, 1991, Pope John Paul II ordained Corapi to the priesthood. Corapi says that Mother Teresa of Calcutta stood behind him at his ordination, and that he saw a vision of the Virgin Mary smelling lilacs on that day. Corapi's first assignments as a priest were at parishes in Hudson, New York and Robstown, Texas. Later, in the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, he became the Director of Catholic Faith Formation and of the Bishop's Project on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Corapi earned a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the University of Navarre. He became a regular contributor to the EWTN television and radio networks. In 2008, Corapi curtailed his public appearances for reasons of health, but continued to produce audio and video programs from his studio in Montana. On August 15, 2009, Corapi made his first public appearance in over a year in Buffalo, New York for his "Lord and Giver of Life" conference at HSBC Arena. He completed and taped several conferences in 2010, including at San Antonio, Texas; St. Louis, Missouri; and Cincinnati, Ohio. In subsequent months, Corapi preached sermons on the dangers of socialism. ===Allegations of misconduct=== ==Activity post-2011== In 2021, Matt C. Abbott posted an update quoting the Catholic lay evangelist and author Jesse Romero as saying that in 2016, Romero had unofficially been told by S.O.L.T.'s then-superior general that Corapi had "reconciled with his order", "was living the life of a monk in a monastery", was practicing "full-time prayer and penance", "had medical problems", and "will never speak in public again—by his choice and his superior’s choice as well." ==Published works== The Theology of the Cross in the Magisterium of John Paul II (doctoral thesis) (Universidad de Navarra, Facultad de Teologia, 1992¹) The Cross of Christ in the Magisterium of John Paul II (1978–1992) (excerpts from doctoral thesis) (Sacra Theologia, Vol. XXV n. 3 (1994): 150–213) Ever Ancient, Ever New: A Collection of Articles on Various Subjects (Santa Cruz Media, 2005) Letters: A Collection of Short Letters from Father John Corapi (Santa Cruz Media, 2009) "Those Strong Feet That Followed After", in Welcome Home! Stories of Fallen-Away Catholics Who Came Back, edited by Victor R. Claveau (Ignatius Press, 2000)

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1370682336 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.