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The time has come, too much has gone wrong for too long, Catholicism needs to change. This most recent story involving a priest and sexual infidelity has sparked national attention, though this time not the type that could land you behind bars, and cost the church millions in legal fees and settlements. This time, it merely involved a priest giving into his natural attraction and sexual desires, and being caught on camera doing a little kissing and hugging.
Rev. Alberto Cutie is the object of all of this drama. Cutie was the head of Miami archdiocese's international radio network and the head of his parish until he was removed last week after "the Spanish-language magazine TVnotas ran photos of Cutie embracing a woman at a bar and at a beach." Cutie was so well known and liked on the broadcast that he even earned the nickname "Father Oprah" for his superb relationship advice. It turns out that his advice was aided by some research and not simply instincts, as he has admitted that he has had a romantic relationship with the woman in the photos for about two years, involving sex. Outrage!
Cutie has shared that he doesn't want to be the poster boy against celibacy, and shared that he feels that he himself
"fell short." He also shared that he is a proponent of celibacy as a means of commitment to God, and that he simply has fallen in love with the woman and feels torn between his love for her and his love for the Church.
I think Cutie is the best thing to happen to the Church, as far as media attention goes, and I think the Church should run with this. I commend the commitment of so many to show their faith and devoutness to God through celibacy, though I think it is a harmful way to do so. There have been far too many ills that have come from celibacy failed and human sexual desire proving too strong, and this restraint only tends to psychologically damage as well. Don't hear me wrong, I'm not promoting a free love society of the priesthood, but I think it is more than time that this devotion is better placed. I tend towards the Protestant idea that marriage is the completion of a person, when it is entered into faithfully and as a form of worship and devoutness to God. I know that Catholics would dare want to hear a Protestant's mindset on the matter, though I know Protestants are weary of having to hear more allegations and terrible stories involving an issue that should be changed. It is possible to enter into marriage with purity and devotion, if this was a concern, even in today's society. The Catholic church could do a lot to absolve themselves in the minds of many by recognizing the ills of this issue, and the changes that could ease many people's hearts towards them. They can never make up for the wrongs, but they can take steps to work towards positive solutions, and then maybe the great work that is done to care for the forgotten, to reach out to the neglected, and to provide a way in the darkness will be the first thing people think of when they think of the Catholic church.