Rev. Alberto Cutié | 05/07/2009 9:25 am

'Padre Oprah' Catholic Rev. Alberto Cutié Caught With Woman on Beach, Church Peeved

Wildly popular Cutié recently said Catholic priests should be allowed to marry, Church makes him take leave; supporters rally.

By The staff at wowOwow.com

Rev. Alberto Cutié © AP

The Catholic Church is none too happy with popular Rev. Alberto Cutié after the popular Miami Beach priest said priests should be able to marry — and was then caught out and about with a woman.

Rev. Cutié, 40, is wildly popular in Florida and is a bestselling author and host of his own show, "Padre Alberto." He’s known as "Padre Oprah" for his advice on love and relationships. But last week he told a Spanish-language Miami TV station that Catholic priests should be allowed to wed, saying: "If they [church officials] want to discipline me, let them discipline me, but I think the option would be better and healthier.” He was then caught getting a little too cozy with a woman in public. He was relieved of his duties, and while the Church says it’s up to him whether he wants to repent, the Episcopalians may have a better offer for him.

”He is welcome in our church,” Bishop Leo Frade of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida told The Miami Herald. ”For us, a single guy on the beach with his girlfriend is no problem. Episcopalians look at this and scratch their heads.”

Meanwhile, Cutié’s supporters — and there are a lot of them — are holding a rally this morning in support of him in South Beach.

”We are gathering together to show our friendship and support for all the work he has done in Miami and around the world,” Yohayra Dajud de La Fuentes, a parishioner and rally organizer, told the Herald. "He changed our lives and is a channel of God’s light.”

What do you think? Should Catholic priests be allowed to marry?

Read more about: Beach, Catholic Church, Florida, Marry, Miami, News, Padre Oprah, Priests, Rev. Alberto Cutie, Tabloid, US

50 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

You do make an excellant point. I’m not sure the Catholic Church can be changed from within, though. They just refuse to see what is going on. My husband is Catholic and I was literally thisclose to converting when the scandal broke. I was taking the classes, etc… I kept waiting for someone…anyone…in the Church to say something meaningful. Absolute silence. I’m convinced that they thought "If we just ignore this, it will go away". By the time someone was finally forced to make a statement it was just far too little, too late for me.

A couple of years ago the parish priest sent around a questionaire asking for parishioners opinions about why church attendance is so low. HELLO!! Where on earth had this guy been for the past few years? They just don’t get it. And I am not sure what it will take to make them get it.

So, in regards to this priest, you are probably right in that he should just leave already. But maybe he thought he could sort of force the issue by being openly defiant.

By Deena B. on 05/07/2009 6:33 pm

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This is why my cousin’s son left the priesthood - got a dispensation from the Vatican to do so. This was a number of years ago, but he advocated marriage for priests and more active participation of women in the church. He got married shortly after he left the priesthood.

By Lizzie R. on 05/07/2009 1:51 pm

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Even though I am not a Catholic, being from Chicago, where there are more Catholics than in Rome, practically every person I knew growing up was Catholic, in fact I’ve been married to two! When I was a teenager I belonged to a Catholic youth group, mostly for the socializing (that was even the case for the Catholics in the group). We went on retreats and had weekly meetings. It was a lot of fun. Anyway, through these circumstances I have actually known and been friends with several priests and a couple of nuns over the years… and with the exception of one of the priests, all of them left the clergy and all eventually married.

By DeBúrca obj on 05/07/2009 4:36 pm

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… in fact, the priest who married one of my friends to her husband, eventually ended up marrying my friend’s sister!

By DeBúrca obj on 05/07/2009 4:37 pm

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This article makes me think of the Thorn Birds. I was so mad at Ralph de Bricassart, he couldn’t make up his mind, the Church or Maggie….He really made me mad…..imho, I feel denying marriage for the Priests is not healthy for any man…..and without the experience of marriage and family, it’s very hard to preach to others about marriage.

By Libra Lady on 05/07/2009 10:15 pm

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This is what I don’t get about the Catholic church, it’s like they shoot themselves in the foot all the time.

Here is a priest whom thousands love and respect—I mean that person is holding a rally and calling him a "channel of God’s light" yet the church holds its nose and says, "You’re outta here!" because he got caught with a….WOMAN!

Yet, as so many here have mentioned, rolling around with children…meh, it’s all good! What is wrong with this picture?

I think he should go to the Episcopalian church where he can continue his good works, inspiring people, and lead a normal life by marrying someone he loves. If he does that, I bet his light will shine even brighter.

By Slinky Binx on 05/09/2009 10:02 am

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A lot of people are ignorant. Catholic Priest marry into the Catholic Church. The vows they take to become priest and nuns are a wedding vow to God. This is why what Padre Alberto did is wrong, he pretty much cheated on his marriage to the church. If you all see they do wear rings you fools. Sheesh. This is why there are so many ignorant people in the world, they either talk out of their rear-ends or they regurgitate what others say without stopping to think if the other person is right or wrong!

By elena marrero on 05/12/2009 6:57 am

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YES, they should. Period.

By Trina O on 05/13/2009 6:13 am

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God bless them!! Now how to the church know how many priest are having sex? I say have all the sex you can, God still loves you!

By A Amedee on 05/13/2009 6:23 am

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If a priest has sex with a child they are hidden somewhere else in the Catholic society, but if a Priest has sex with a woman “God forbide”, it’s normal for a man to have sex with a woman. Maybe it’s time the Catholic Church stop trying to run the world with rules and regulations that are older then dirt. He’s a healthy normal man, there is no law tat says you can’t be devoted to God and worship him and have a normal sexual life.

By Deniseann Taylor on 05/13/2009 10:45 am

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In this world there is, it seems to me, the sacred, and there is the profane.

The sacred is that which is set apart to be devoted to God.

The profane includes that "not devoted to holy or religious purposes; unconsecrated; secular," in other words, the everyday. (I know it also includes that which is blasphemous, but I’m not using that definition here.)

One is not better than the other; one needs the other.

I do understand that a married priest might be better able to identify with and understand the everyday problems of married people, but that’s not what priests ARE (and not what I want them to be). A married priest more properly belongs to the world of the "profane;" like the rest of us, he’s everyday.

A celibate priest is more properly devoted to the world of the spirit, to the things of God. As I understand the difference between a priest and a minister, imam, or rabbi (words with different meanings), a "priest" is one who makes sacrifices (not only the sacrifice of celibacy, but the sacrificial offering of bread and wine to be transformed, literally, into the body and blood of Christ. That’s why they do it on an altar.) Someone who is called on to make that sacrifice every day, in my opinion should be celibate, set apart.

Now, priests being by definition human, they will fail, they will succumb to the delicious and profane world of the everyday. But for me, it’s important that the idea of a celibate priesthood exists, and that most priests attempt to adhere to the practice of celibacy.

We practice a form of celibacy in our everyday lives when we save things "for good;" things like dishes we only use on special ocassions. If we used them in our everyday life, they would become everyday dishes. We make them, in a sense, "holy," by saving them for "holy" occasions.

However, I don’t really have a dog in this fight.

By Helen O'Reilly on 05/13/2009 11:28 am

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Thank you, Helen. I’ve never understood this concept before. I was raised in the Roman Catholic church and, like many here, found another avenue for the sake of my spirituality. I always leaned more toward the thought of sharing assets with families and/or responsibility to those heirs. I have been to Rome and visited the Vatican, the wealth displayed there made me feel sad.

By Jane Silver on 05/13/2009 4:14 pm

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You’re welcome; I heard it in its original form many, many years ago at a retreat; the retreat master was a Catholic priest. And of course this is filtered through my perception, but it made sense to me then, and still today.

By Helen O'Reilly on 05/13/2009 4:20 pm

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Helen——Thank you from the sister of a Catholic Priest. My brother and I have always had a special bond. He is only 17 months older than me. He is not only the finest Catholic priest I know, he is also my friend. We have had many discussions over the years regarding priests and their vows. I have asked him on several occasions "Would you marry if you were granted permission". His answer is a definite no. He also says "I don’t have time for a wife and family. There is no way I could do both". He is truly dedicated to his calling. After spending time with him over the years - many visits - I can understand what he is saying. His phone rings non-stop - there is always someone to counsel, someone to be married, someone who has a personal problem. He also has three parishes and teaches religion in a catholic high school nearby. And, there are visits to the sick in the hospitals and the elderly in nursing homes. It certainly isn’t a 9-5 job.

So, each day, I pray for him. Each day I grow prouder of this man. I always know that if I have a problem, he is always there for me. I also know that he is a man and he is a human being.

So, thank you again for your post. Again, I repeat, this is a wonderful, dedicated man and I am so proud he is my brother and my friend.

By Lady Gator on 05/13/2009 7:19 pm

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There are dozens of fully ordained, married Roman Catholic priests ministering in dioceses in the U.S. today. The church does not require them to be abstinent with their wives. Many are former Anglican and Lutheran priests who converted after marriage, then were re-ordained by Rome. Pope Paul VI wrote an exception to the vow of celibacy on July 22, 1980 in a Pastoral Provision for the ordination of Episcopal priests. In recent years Rev. Bill Lowe was ordained in the LA diocese after retiring as an Episcopal priest; Cardinal Mahoney ordained him. Rev. Bill has been married going on 50 years to his wife and they have three adult kids and grandkids.

In Africa, probably 30% of RC priests have wives and children. We look the other way because 2/3 of us worldwide support the idea of married priests and no one is complaining about these priests flouting their vow of celibacy.Top

By Ruth M on 05/13/2009 9:57 pm