By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

Father John Corapi is asking for prayer after being put on administrative leave after a former female employee filed a three-page letter to several bishops falsely accusing him of “everything from drug addition to multiple sexual exploits” with her and several other women.

“On Ash Wednesday I learned that a former employee sent a three-page letter to several bishops accusing me of everything from drug addiction to multiple sexual exploits with her and several other adult women,” says a letter by Fr. Corapi which was posted on his website.

“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, which was in recent years crafted to respond to cases of the sexual abuse of minors. I am not accused of that, but 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 have been placed on ‘administrative leave’ as the result of this.”

He goes on to express his intention of cooperating with the process, but says he believes the process is seriously flawed and is tantamount to treating the priest as guilty “just in case.”

“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.

“All of the allegations in the complaint are false, and I ask you to pray for all concerned.”

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