Ex-Catholic Priest Alberto Cutie Prepares to Wed After Scandal

laht ^ | June 14, 2009

[NYer]

MIAMI – Ex-Catholic priest Alberto Cutie will wed in two weeks, after sparking a scandal when he was photographed nuzzling his girlfriend on a Miami beach, The Miami Herald newspaper said.

The wedding will be held in an Episcopal church here at a private ceremony for which several ex-police have been hired to ensure security, according to sources close to the religious.

Cutie, born in Puerto Rico of Cuban descent, left the Catholic Church after the photos were published and weeks later announced that he was joining the Episcopal Church, for which he has already given his first sermon.

The marriage of Cutie, 40, and the Guatemalan Ruhama Buni Canellis, 35, the divorced mother of a teenage boy, will be officiated by Bishop Leo Frade, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, according to the daily.

After hiding her love relationship with the priest from the public for the past two years, the Guatemalan woman appeared smiling together with Cutie at the end of May at Miami’s Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.

She joined Cutie for a ceremony where Bishop Frade announced that Father Alberto had become a member of the Episcopal Church and wanted to be ordained a priest.

The Episcopal Church does not require priestly celibacy.

The scandal broke out in mid-May when the tabloid TVnotas USA published 25 photos of the couple, in one of which Cutie was snapped putting his hand in Canellis’ bikini bottom.

Cutie hosted radio and TV programs in the United States and Latin America, and was considered one of the most influential Hispanics in this country.

His photos, seen around the world, again raised the subject of celibacy in the Catholic Church.

Popular reaction in Florida and in the rest of the country among Catholics has been enormous and many have expressed their opinions on whether or not Catholic priests should be required to remain celibate.

[SumProVita]

May God have mercy on their souls....

[conservative cat]

So, if he is an Episcopalian priest and gets married, couldn’t he later become a Catholic priest? Or has he burnt that bridge? The Church does allow for married ministers/priests of other religions to become Catholic priests.

[NYer]

That was quick.

In anticipation of the questions, here are the answers.

---

5 Arguments Against Priestly Celibacy

1. 

   Allowing priests to marry would end pedophilia.
   
   It is completely untrue that celibate priests are more likely to be pedophiles than any other group of men, married or not. Pedophilia affects only 0.3 percent of the population of Catholic clergy, and sexual abusers in general account for less than 2 percent of Catholic priests. These figures are comparable to rates among married men, as non-Catholic scholar Philip Jenkins points out in his book Pedophiles and Priests. Other Protestant denominations have admitted to having similar problems among their own married clergy, so clearly the problem is not with celibacy.
   
   
2. A married clergy would create a larger pool of healthy priestly candidates, solving the current priest shortage.
   
   There are actually plenty of vocations today in faithful dioceses: Denver, Northern Virginia, and Lincoln, Nebraska, have great numbers of men entering the priesthood. If other dioceses, such as Milwaukee, want to answer the question of why they have so few vocations, the answer is simple: Challenge young men to a religious life that is demanding, countercultural, sacrificial, and loyal to the Holy Father and Catholic teaching. This is the surest way to guarantee a greater number of vocations.
   
   
3. Married priests relate better to issues concerning marriage and the family.
   
   To put it bluntly, one doesn't need to be an adulterer to counsel other adulterers. Priests understand the sacrificial nature and sanctity of marriage in a way that few others do. Who better to counsel a person in the ways of keeping the marital vow of fidelity than one who keeps the vow of celibacy?
   
   
4. It's unnatural for men to be celibate.
   
   This idea reduces men to animals, creatures who can't live without their sexual urges being gratified. But humans are not animals. Humans make choices about the gratification of their appetites. We can control and channel our desires in a way that sets us apart from the rest of the animal world. And again, most sexual abusers are not celibate. It's sexual license that breeds sexual abuse, not celibacy!
   
   
5. Celibacy in the Latin rite is unfair. Since the Eastern rite allows married priests and the Latin rite allows married priests who have converted from Episcopalianism and Lutheranism, why can't all priests be married?
   
   The discipline of celibacy among priests is one of the distinctive marks of the Roman Catholic tradition. Anyone who chooses to become a priest accepts the discipline. The Eastern rite, Lutheranism, and Episcopalianism, on the other hand, have a long tradition of married priests and the infrastructure and experience to handle it. However, Eastern rite priests and married priests who have converted from Lutheranism or Episcopalianism are NOT allowed to marry after their ordination or remarry after the death of their wife. In addition, the Eastern Church only chooses bishops from among their celibate, unmarried priests, clearly demonstrating that they see an inherent value in the nature of celibacy.

 

5 Arguments for Priestly Celibacy

1. Celibacy reaffirms marriage.
   
   In a society that is completely saturated with sex, celibate priests are living proof that sexual urges can be controlled and channeled in a positive way. Far from denigrating the sexual act, celibacy acknowledges the goodness of sex within marriage by offering it up as a sacrifice to God. The sanctity of marriage is dishonored if it is treated merely as an outlet for sexual impulses. Rather, we as Christians are called to understand marriage as the inviolable commitment of a husband and wife to love and honor one another. A priest offers up a similar commitment of love to the Church, a bond that cannot be broken and that is treated with the same gravity and respect as in marriage.
   
   
2. Celibacy is scriptural.
   
   

   Challenge young men to a religious life that is demanding, countercultural, sacrificial, and loyal to the Holy Father and Catholic teaching. This is the surest way to guarantee a greater number of vocations.

   Fundamentalists will tell you that celibacy has no basis in the Bible whatsoever, saying that Christians are called to "Be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28). This mandate speaks to humanity in general, however, and overlooks numerous passages in the Bible that support the celibate life. In 1 Corinthians, for example, Paul actually seems to prefer the celibate life: "Are you free from a wife? Do not seek marriage. . . . Those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. . . . The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided" (7:27-34). This is not to say that all men should be celibate, however; Paul explains that celibacy is a calling for some and not for others by saying, "Each has his own special gift from God, one of one kind and one of another" (7:7).
   
   Jesus Himself speaks of celibacy in Matthew 19:11-12: "Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom it is granted. Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of God. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it." Again, the emphasis is on the special nature of celibacy, one for which not all men are suited, but one that nevertheless gives glory to "the kingdom of God."
   
   Perhaps the best evidence for the scriptural support of celibacy is that Jesus Himself practiced it!
   
   

3. Celibacy is historical.
   
   Most people assume that the celibate priesthood is a convention introduced by the Church fairly late in history. On the contrary, there is evidence that even the earliest Church fathers, such as St. Augustine, St. Cyril, and St. Jerome, fully supported the celibate priesthood. The Spanish Council of Elvira (between 295 and 302) and the First Council of Aries (314), a kind of general council of the West, both enacted legislation forbidding all bishops, priests, and deacons to have conjugal relations with their wives on penalty of exclusion from the clergy. Even the wording of these documents suggests that the councils were not introducing a new rule but rather maintaining a previously established tradition. In 385, Pope Siricius issued the first papal decree on the subject, saying that "clerical continence" was a tradition reaching as far back as apostolic times. While later councils and popes would pass similar edicts, the definitive promulgation of the celibate, unmarried priesthood came at the Second Lateran Council in 1139 under Pope Gregory VII. Far from being a law forced upon the medieval priesthood, it was the acceptance of celibacy by priests centuries earlier that eventually led to its universal promulgation in the twelfth century.
   
   
4. Celibacy emphasizes the unique role of the priest.
   
   The priest is a representative of Christ, an alter Christus. In this respect, the priest understands his identity by following the example of Jesus, a man who lived His life in perfect chastity and dedication to God. As Archbishop Crescenzio Sepe of Grado explains, "[A priest's] being and his acting must be like Christ's: undivided" (The Relevance of Priestly Celibacy Today, 1993). As such, the sacramental priesthood is holy, something set apart from the rest of the world. Just as Christ sacrificed His life for His bride, the Church, so too must a priest offer up his life for the good of Christ's people.
   
   
5. Celibacy allows the priest's first priority to be the Church.
   
   The image used to describe the role of the priest is one of marriage to the Church. Just as marriage is the total gift of self to another, the priesthood requires the total gift of self to the Church. A priest's first duty is to his flock, while a husband's first duty is to his wife. Obviously, these two roles will often conflict, as St. Paul noted and as many married priests will tell you. A celibate priest is able to give his undivided attention to his parishioners without the added responsibility of caring for his own family. They are able to pick up and go whenever necessary, whether this involves moving to a new parish or responding to a late-night crisis. Celibate priests are better able to respond to these frequent changes and demands on their time and attention.

[NYer]

So, if he is an Episcopalian priest and gets married, couldn’t he later become a Catholic priest?

No. He broke his first vow and excommunicated himself when he knelt down before the Episcopal bishop.

[SnakeDoctor]

I cannot begrudge a man for marrying. God Bless them both. Celibacy may be a worthy goal, but it is not an essential one. As for his premarital activities — that Priests are sinners, like the rest of us, is not a new revelation.

SnakeDoc

[Last Dakotan]

To put it bluntly, one doesn't need to be an adulterer to counsel other adulterers.

As a sacrementaly married man I take offense to that comment.

[wombtotomb]

Excellent post!

My son is entering seminary minor next fall. He has always wanted to be a priest as long as he can remember. I have one son older than him and one son younger than him. My oldest was always interested in girls, since like 13 or 14. He is now 22 and getting married this winter. My youngest, who is almost 16, is now showing an interest in girls/dating. He is attending a theology of the body seminar through our local parish before he is allowed to start dating (as did my oldest). My middle son, while he likes girls, and wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to go to the movies or to dinner with a girl, and fully intends to attend his senior prom next year, has no real desire to date, especially seriously. We just recently had this discussion. He said he is more curious as to what it is like to date or have a girlfriend, than feel it as a need. He likens it to trying bungee jumping, in his mind. He has also stated emphatically that if he had to give up fishing to enter the priesthood, he probably couldn’t do that, but marriage/girls/sex/children, thats fine LOL. My oldest cannot comprehend this.

Anyone who thinks that God does not provide sufficent grace to handle every situation He calls you to is wrong. I have watched it day after day in my own home with my 3 boys. God has provided my oldest with the vocation of marriage, and a woman who is equal to the task. He has provided my middle son the contentment and peace of celibacy, God has given him every gift and grace he needs to be equal to the task. He has provided these gifts for my youngest son as well, he just isn’t sure which of them he is called to as of yet, so he is discerning whether he is called to marriage or religous life and part of that for him is dating.

Perhaps if Father Cutie had realized he was called to marriage and obeyed, and became a deacon, none of this would have happened in the first place. We can only have one vocation in life, either married or single. Most called to be single are called to religious life in some way. Regardless, ALL are called to chastity whether married or single, and Fr. Cutie let his congregation down mightily in this respect. Shame on him. If your priest can hook up, how do you teach your children not to???????

[Beowulf9]

Kind of like King Henry the VIII, if the rules don’t suit him he changes churches....

WHICH he never would’ve done if he hadn’t been caught. They aught to remove him from office not sanctify his behavior with a position of office.

[SeaHawkFan]

TTIWWP

[SeaHawkFan]

She’s not unattractive, but nothing special. Wouldn’t give her a second look when it comes to being attractive.

[NYer]

I cannot begrudge a man for marrying.Celibacy may be a worthy goal, but it is not an essential one.

No one begrudges him for leaving the priesthood and marrying. And, you are right, celibacy is not an essential goal. Neither is the issue here. He broke a vow made to God. He understood what that vow was prior to ordination.

[NYer]

To put it bluntly, one doesn't need to be an adulterer to counsel other adulterers. As a sacrementaly married man I take offense to that comment.

No one is suggesting that you are an adulterer. The arguments against priestly celibacy include: Married priests relate better to issues concerning marriage and the family.

The argument against that statement was:

To put it bluntly, one doesn't need to be an adulterer to counsel other adulterers. Priests understand the sacrificial nature and sanctity of marriage in a way that few others do. Who better to counsel a person in the ways of keeping the marital vow of fidelity than one who keeps the vow of celibacy?

My Catholic pastor is from one of the Eastern Churches. His grandfather was a married priest; my pastor, however, intentionally chose the celibate life. It allows him to devote all his attention to his parish community without worrying about the demands that accompany marriage. Why would you take offense at that?

[SnakeDoctor]

That is between him and the Almighty. Salvation is a glorious thing.

SnakeDoc

[NYer]

Thank you for sharing such a personal testimony of your 3 sons. You have recognized how God calls men to serve through the example of your middle son. My prayers for him and all of you as he enters seminary minor. As Fr. Corapi often reminds us: No priest! No eucharist! We need priests and God, in His great wisdom, calls these men by imbuing in them the graces necessary to pursue this calling. Please keep me apprised of his journey. May God richly bless you for this gift to the Catholic Church.

[NYer]

??????

[Steelfish]

Excellent post- thanks!

[vladimir998]

Oh, this just keeps getting better and better:

“The marriage of Cutie, 40, and the Guatemalan Ruhama Buni Canellis, 35, the divorced mother of a teenage boy, will be officiated by Bishop Leo Frade, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, according to the daily.”

What? Where’s the Protestant poster who got mad at me because I said Canellis was a bimbo now? Not only was there fornication, but now there’s a strong hint at adultery too. Lovely, just lovely!

[Last Dakotan]

Not all married are adulterers. The problems one has in marriage are not limited to adultery. To refer to their consult as consoling the adulterers is insulting.

Poor choice of words.

[A.A. Cunningham]

The Holy See has not dispensed Cutie from his vow of celibacy.

Not only has he burnt the bridge he and his bimbo have made a sizable down payment on an extremely unpleasant eternity.