Father Cutie (Pie?)

Father Alberto Cutie (It's pronounced koo-tee-AY, not QT, for our wise guy reader friends,) is preparing to celebrate his first Mass in the Anglican rite this Sunday in Miami. And yet the debate no longer proceeds with regard to the issue of Celibacy and the Roman Catholic Church.

You see, Father Alberto got run off by the Roman Catholic Church for a relationship with a woman. His relationship appears to be healthy, mature, and expressive. His fiancee is, by all indications, an affectionate and caring lady who is fully age-appropriate.

Yes, this is a "now, let me get this straight," moment. Priests who committed the most heinous acts of homosexual pedophilia were permitted to remain in service while church hierarchy covered up their deeds, but a healthy, adult heterosexual relationship is grounds to eliminate a clergyman from consideration?

If men are created in God's image, one hopes that the part of men going "huh?" is directly derived from God's Personality. Otherwise, we may be in some deep stuff here.

Full disclosure-your Wandering Gentile has effective baptisms in both the Roman and Anglican rites-the details of having two baptisms being unnecessary for the narrative here. Let it be said that I was very devout and sincere in my practice of Roman Catholicism for over twenty years. My discussion was not with Jesus Christ, but with those who portray themselves as holding the patent and exclusive license to my Lord and Savior.

I had a disastrous encounter in South Georgia with a Pentecostal church. The worshippers appeared to my liturgically-informed sensibilities to be suffering from broken legs, i.e., rolling on the floor, crying and yelling "JESUS!" Upon returning to metropolitan Atlanta, I attempted to reconcile with the faith which had once brought me great joy.

The administrations of two different archbishops in the Atlanta Archdiocese had changed the character of the church as I had known it. As a worshipper, I leaned more toward the young Karol Wojtyla's example of social activism and pursuit of justice. It could be described as more Martin Sheen than Mel Gibson. There was great emphasis on connecting the Word to those who had been cast aside. There was an outreach to those who were already out of the womb but as yet not connected spiritually.

That was an exciting time, but it is long since past. When I got back, I found my local parish to be filled to the rafters with people willing to hear the Word of God. The priest apparently got his catechism directly from Sean Hannity, because his Homily included a very unsubtle, and frankly offensive suggestion that the undocumented repatriate immediately. This was during a SPANISH LANGUAGE Mass.

That was the beginning of the Jeremiah Wright phase. The real question was more along the lines of "Do I want to spend Eternity with it being run by people like him?" I did what I could to give the priest a fair hearing. I did not bail out immediately. I stayed for six more months. He did not get better.

Finally, I was informed that if I wanted to attend Mass in that parish, I would have to park across a busy four-lane boulevard. The church's parking lot was reserved for a group which had scheduled in conflict with the Spanish language Mass. They wanted the Lexuses and Cadillacs, and those of us in Escorts and Minivans could be inconvenienced. We would keep coming back.

One of us did not, will not return. I parked across the street, unwilling to be taken for granted. The next Sunday, I found the Anglican parish on the other side of my Atlanta suburb.

The priest spoke of Reconciliation and Hope, the communion of humanity and their Creator. The hymns, the prayers, and the language of faith were from a lexicon all but abandoned by the Roman Catholic parish a short distance away. It was a return to the faith, if not the denomination which had structured my beliefs. In other words, I was home after a long time away.

One hopes that the telegenic Father Alberto will feel the same. Most of those who practice a Christian faith are inclined to seeking reconciliation with God. One imagines that questioning a rule about Celibacy which appears not in the Gospel, but in an admonition from St. Paul, may not preclude a good servant of the Lord from continuing to inspire as he did previously.

Question not the kind priest from Miami who fell in love. Question the hierarchy which would consider him expendable, when they tolerate so many behaviors which estrange men from God.