Married
ex-Catholic Miami priest calls fatherhood an ‘incredible experience’
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| Fr.Alberto-cute with his family |
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| Fr.Alberto-cute with his wife canellis |
He’s a holy father!
The priest who sparked a scandal in Miami’s Catholic community
after getting caught kissing a woman is now dishing about his life as a
different kind of “Father” figure.
Rev. Alberto Cutié was defrocked after paparazzi snapped photos
of him cuddling with his bikini-clad girlfriend on a Miami beach in May 2009.
More than five years later, he’s happily married to that woman and is the proud
dad of two young children — 2-year-old Albert and 3-year-old Camilla.
The dad also has a 19-year-old stepson, Christian, from his
wife’s first marriage.
In a recent in interview with Oprah TV’s “Where Are They Now?” Cutié said that married life has
been a “blessing.”
“Being a father is an incredible
experience,” Cutié said. “People called me ‘Father’ for many years, but being a
biological father and being a spiritual father are very different things.”
“We have our hands full now!” he
added with a grin while hugging his children.
Cutié had been a popular figure
in Miami’s Latino community. He appeared often on Spanish-language television
to hand out advice and encouragement. The gig earned him the nickname “Father
Oprah.”
But his dedication to the Roman
Catholic priesthood — and its vow of lifelong celibacy — crumbled when he met
his future wife, a divorced mother named Ruhama Canellis. Cutié said the
chemistry between the two was instant.
“As a
young man, you kind of feel that energy that is there and you're like: 'How do
you turn this off? I'm not allowed to do this,” he told Oprah.com.
The
pair met in 1999 and dated secretly for two years before the Miami beach
pictures went public. A few months later, Cutié waved goodbye to the Catholic
church to become an Episcopal priest. And after 15 years of counseling other
nervous grooms, he finally became a groom himself by marrying Canellis.
Cutié
says his wife is now one of his greatest supporters.
“She
has a feminine intuition that we men sometimes lack,” Cutié said.
His
only regret is that he wishes he would have come out of the priesthood sooner.
Before, he admits he had been “paralyzed” with fear. But now, he argues that
celibacy is a man-made rule and not a Biblical mandate. He believes his
vocation to the priesthood and his marriage complement each other.
“It’s unfortunate that thousands and thousands of priests
have to live in hidden situations because they’re not allowed to marry,” he
said.
He hopes to serve as an inspiration for other priests in
the same predicament.
“In the five and a half years since I made this
transition, I get a daily email, letter, or phone call from a priest who is in
love,” Cutié said. “I always tell people, 'If you have something good that's in
your heart that you've got to say, just say it and move on.' There's such a
great, great power in learning to move on."
Source:CathNews,USA
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