Do you remember Fr. Alberto Cutie, the prominent Florida priest who got caught smooching his girlie in public and then just as prominently abandoned the Catholic Church?
As if that wasn’t jerky enough, this certainly is.
As some sort of self justification for his leaving the Church, he writes a despicable article for the Huffington Post in which he claims to detail the reasons (read Big Bad Catholic Church) for many prominent priests who have been “disappeared.”
He lists some of the recent goings on of which we are all familiar, but tries to cast some in a disingenuous light to hurt the Church. For instance, he says this of dog John Corapi:
He developed an incredible media ministry to promote the Church’s message, but when he was accused of wrongdoing with an adult female, there was no due process, and Fr. Corapi just got fed up and moved on. He describes his disillusionment in a recent video, which every devout Roman Catholic should watch.
I am sure Berto thought that Corapi was a disgusting right wing nutjob right up until he got caught with a woman. He then jumps to unknowable conclusions about the Pavone situation.
Then he drags up priests who have been caught in various levels of wrong doing that have been disciplined and/or have left the Church. Of course, if the Church did nothing about these people they would be guilty of coverup. When they act swiftly they are guilty of, you guessed it, coverup.
Yet, while all this seems to be happening now, we seem to have a bad memory and we forget this apparent animosity of the Church toward priests that are well known, charismatic figures and strong leaders has been going on for a long time. Regardless of the crimes they may or may not have committed, let’s look back to the 1980s, 1990s and into the year Boston seems to have made the whole thing explode in 2001-2002.
He then lists several priest who are credibly accused or even admitted baddies and classifies it as animosity toward prominent and charismatic priests.
If anything, I think that most of these cases show that the Church has been too lenient and granted too much independence to prominent and charismatic priests including Berto himself.
Fr. Cutie was a bad priest. Berto is a bad man.
September 20, 2011 at 3:12 am
Anytime one of us starts to think that we can do awesome things by our own power, we need to be brought down a peg. Thinking we're awesome (pride) is a sin that kicks open the door to more sin. We should rejoice in the humiliation because in humiliation we are truly like Christ.
September 20, 2011 at 3:48 am
What does he want? For us to bring back people like Fr. Ken Roberts, so he can have another go at the altar boys? Does he want us to foot Monsignor Clark’s hotel bill when another man’s wife strikes his fancy?
Notoriety is like crack to personalities like this. Oprah put a line of blow in front of him and he's been selling parts of his soul to get that sweet limelight back ever since. Our only fortunate joy is that he removed himself, and the Church was spared the bother and expense of having to lift a foot to his backside.
Sometimes the garbage really does take itself out.
September 20, 2011 at 3:51 am
Thank God for non-celebrity priests. Thank God for priests who come to the hospital in the middle of the night to offer the Sacraments. Thank God for priests who get their hair cut at a place called Dub's Barber Shop. Thank God for priests who exhaust themselves in serving us — and shame on us for not honoring them nearly as much as we should.
Thank You, Jesus, for Father Ron.
September 20, 2011 at 5:25 am
Ehh, the Episcopal Church is too small of a market, and he knows it….
BTW, Alberto Cutie is…..who????
September 20, 2011 at 6:01 am
" Fr. Corapi just got fed up and moved on" well that shows just what he thinks about the Church… you move on when you find out they don't have your favorite flavor of ice cream at the store… you don't "move on" in matters of the church. Why would we care what someone who left the Church only because he got caught has to say, anyways?
September 20, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Yes, Mack! Let's all thank God today for those wonderful priests who silently live out their vows and dispense the sacraments and hide behind Our Lord. It's a life of sacrifice. Thank God for Fr. John F. in Chicago, a priest for 65 years.
September 20, 2011 at 2:21 pm
Dear All,
We should 'hate the sin' and 'not the sinner'. Please could you show some real christian charity to these men, who, like us, have immortal souls remember, and whom God loves and died for on the Cross) and pray for them that they be given the grace of contrition and through the Sacrament of Reconciliation be restored to full communion with the Lord in His body, the Church. They may never exercise their priestly ministry again but their eternal salvation is at stake.
satan is attacking as never before and the only way to combat this is for us to pray, pray hard for all our priests.
maryclare.
September 20, 2011 at 3:58 pm
What so weird about it is that he claims that these people were all "good" priests who were mysteriously "disappeared" by the church. I think it's a basic premise of ministry of any kind that you can't carry on as though the rules don't apply to YOU. You actually can't be a good priest by definition if you're flouting your vows and betraying the trust of your flock (much less disobeying your bishop).
Maryclare makes an excellent reminder which holds especially true for Cutie himself. I'm kind of surprised, though, that he doesn't spend more time exposing the problems of his former diocese. Probably too politically incorrect.
September 20, 2011 at 7:51 pm
Yes, yes. There is nothing new under the sun. People (and priests) have been coming and going for all of the church's history. Many walked away from Jesus himself.
Whatever fallible people are within, or without, this is the one true Church that has the essence of all life–the Eucharist. And I for one, will never leave.
September 21, 2011 at 4:57 am
Very well written. Great points.
September 21, 2011 at 9:24 pm
I agree with Jen and will never leave. I love my faith and our church. It has sttod the test of time. Blessings to all!
September 22, 2011 at 9:07 pm
I disgaree with the sort of Priests mentioned in this post, but I strongly disagree with calling others, any others, names like "jerk" or "dog" or even referring to Alberto Cutie as a bad man. It fails charity, which binds us at all times.