Sunday, June 14, 2009

Ex-Catholic Priest Alberto Cutie Prepares to Wed After Scandal


From The Latin American Herald Tribune-

Ex-Catholic priest Alberto Cutie will wed in two weeks, after sparking a scandal when he was photographed nuzzling his girlfriend on a Miami beach, The Miami Herald newspaper said.

The wedding will be held in an Episcopal church here at a private ceremony for which several ex-police have been hired to ensure security, according to sources close to the religious.

Cutie, born in Puerto Rico of Cuban descent, left the Catholic Church after the photos were published and weeks later announced that he was joining the Episcopal Church, for which he has already given his first sermon.

The marriage of Cutie, 40, and the Guatemalan Ruhama Buni Canellis, 35, the divorced mother of a teenage boy, will be officiated by Bishop Leo Frade, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, according to the daily.

After hiding her love relationship with the priest from the public for the past two years, the Guatemalan woman appeared smiling together with Cutie at the end of May at Miami’s Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.

She joined Cutie for a ceremony where Bishop Frade announced that Father Alberto had become a member of the Episcopal Church and wanted to be ordained a priest.

The Episcopal Church does not require priestly celibacy.

The scandal broke out in mid-May when the tabloid TVnotas USA published 25 photos of the couple, in one of which Cutie was snapped putting his hand in Canellis’ bikini bottom.

Cutie hosted radio and TV programs in the United States and Latin America, and was considered one of the most influential Hispanics in this country.

His photos, seen around the world, again raised the subject of celibacy in the Catholic Church.

Popular reaction in Florida and in the rest of the country among Catholics has been enormous and many have expressed their opinions on whether or not Catholic priests should be required to remain celibate.

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=337135&CategoryId=12395

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