April 1, 2011
Dear EWTN Family:
Over the past days, we have received a number of messages from people who are extremely dissatisfied with EWTN’s decision to place Father John Corapi’s programming on hiatus during the period of his administrative leave. Sadly, the tone of many of these messages and web postings has been shrill and uncharitable.
Mother Angelica often told me that criticism comes with the territory. I accept that; however, when I see messages and web postings that malign the character and intentions of people who have served this mission for years, often at great personal sacrifice, I cannot allow those assertions to stand unanswered.
My hope is that such comments stem from a lack of a proper understanding of the reasons for the decision EWTN has made.
Let me say categorically that Father Corapi is absolutely innocent of any and all charges unless proven otherwise by the investigation that is now underway. This is the position of EWTN.
It is simply illogical to assert, as some have, that the very people who have worked personally with Father John over the years and who have made certain that he has had a continued presence on EWTN would suddenly and immediately take league with the enemy and turn against him. I have been privileged to know Father John for more than a decade. He is a gifted preacher and has done tremendous work leading souls to Christ. That is a fact.
We must also understand the fact that the Church teaches that no priest carries out sacred ministry in his own name. Priests minister in the name of the Church, exercising faculties granted by their bishop or religious superior, as the case may be. The mission of the priest is to assist the Bishops in their office of teaching, sanctifying and governing. A priest has no right to public ministry in the Church on his own. He cannot function publicly without the express permission of his bishop or religious superior. That is the discipline of the Church.
In this case, Father John’s own religious superior has made the determination to place him on administrative leave and feels it best that Father John not exercise public ministry at this time. Father Corapi’s religious superior obviously believes that this was the prudent and appropriate course of action. We have not been contacted by Father John or his superior. We do not know any more of the details of the allegations than have been reported publicly, nor should we, but as Catholics, we are obliged to give deference and the benefit of the doubt to the religious superior who does know.
As a Catholic media outlet whose core mission is “the advancement of the Truth as defined by the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church”, EWTN has an obligation to uphold the discipline and teachings of the Church. In the Network’s thirty years of existence, our practice has always been to discontinue airing programs featuring any cleric whose priestly faculties have been suspended, even if temporarily. The Network has always responded consistently and immediately in these situations by removing such programs from the air. That is what we have done with Father John’s programs.
As Catholics, we are obliged to follow the teachings and discipline of the Church. This is true of all of us, clergy, religious and lay people alike. We cannot pick and choose the circumstances in which we decide to follow the rules.
We believe that EWTN had an obligation to remove Father John’s programming from the air. This was not a decision that was reached without much prayer and careful consideration. Some have said this showed a lack of courage by the Network. I would suggest that the easy decision would have been to leave Father’s programs on air; few people probably would have argued with us. The hard decision was to remove the programs. Father John is not just a face on television or a voice on the radio to those of us here at EWTN. He is a man many of us know personally and admire greatly. That made the decision all the more difficult for us.
Some who have written have threatened to withhold their donations to EWTN. Obviously, people can contribute to organizations as they like. For three decades, EWTN has existed by relying on God’s Providence and we do so now. We are confident in the continued generosity of our EWTN Family.
This has been a difficult situation for everyone. Father John has asked us to pray for all involved. That is what we are doing. I would also ask our EWTN Family to continue to pray that this matter will be resolved quickly and that Father John’s programs can be returned to the airwaves.
Michael P. Warsaw
President & Chief Executive Officer
EWTN Global Catholic Network
