Former Catholic Priest Has New Wife, New Life

Proving that there is life beyond the Catholic Church - something those of my generation were taught was not possible without going to Hell - former Catholic priest Alberto Cutie has married and and is progressing in his new life as an Episcopalian. Personally, I prefer the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America having attended both, but I applaud Cutie for having the courage to leave a repressive and increasingly unloving denomination. The full transition will take time but I suspect will be rewarding. There is more to religious faith than guilt and repression of joy and of course all things sexual. Moreover, as a married man, Cutie will have some real life experience when it comes to counseling others. Here are some highlights from the Washington Post:

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MIAMI -- Alberto Cutie walked away from a Coral Gables, Fla., court early one morning this week, marriage license in hand, according to a record posted on Miami-Dade County Clerk of Courts Web site that lists 35-year-old Ruhama Buni Canellis as the bride.

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The former Catholic priest is a widely popular figure among Latinos in the United States. He caused an uproar when photos showing him nuzzling Canellis on a Florida beach -- a violation of his vow of celibacy -- were published in a celebrity magazine early last month.

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The couple were legally married by a judge Tuesday, but sources say they will have a religious ceremony in an unnamed Episcopal church. The Rt. Rev. Leo Frade, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, will officiate that wedding.

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Cutie gave his first sermon as an Episcopalian on May 31 at Church of the Resurrection in Biscayne Park and has started a yearlong process to become an Episcopal priest. In the meantime, he will continue to give sermons and rehabilitate ailing Episcopal churches, including the Church of the Holy Comforter in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood.