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	Supporters of Father Alberto Cutié to Rally behind Embattled Priest By Andres Viglucci, Gerardo Reyes and Jay Weaver Miami Herald May 7, 2009 http://www.miamiherald.com/1460/story/1036487.html More than 60 supporters of the Rev. Alberto Cutié, the telegenic Catholic priest embroiled in a romantic scandal, rallied to the priest's defense Thursday in front of his Miami Beach church. The peaceful protest was interrupted briefly when a commotion erupted between two men. Jose Soler, 69, walking home from a nearby bank, stopped to criticize Cutié, saying the priest used his popularity to manipulate followers and "hurt God." "If you knew what you were doing, how can you feel hurt," he asked of Cutié. "I can't conceive how a man of his stature can create such a scandal." At that point, Felix Claro, 81, pushed Soler to the ground and the shouting crowd surrounded him, defending Cutié. Police quickly intervened and removed Soler, who suffered a cut finger. Some at the rally said the Catholic Church's celibacy oath is outdated and now is the time for it to be dropped. Violeta Ascue, a Peruvian who attends Cutié church regularly, said she came to the rally to give the priest support … and to push for change. "I think this is the precise moment for the church to recognize that priests are flesh and blood," she said. "They should marry, too. I'm sure they'd still be exemplary people." Dropping Cutié would be a great loss to the Miami Beach community, said Dawn McIlraith, 29. "We're able to relate to him because we trust him," she said. His actions won't change that, she added. The noisy supporters were few in number but boisterous in their support, some waving signs saying they supported him. "Celibacy no! Choice yes! 21st Century" was one chant in Spanish. And another: "I admire, I respect, I pardon Father Alberto!" The rally, which gathered after the early morning Mass, drew television cameras from local stations, including Spanish-language TV. "He has the right to fall in love and start a family," said John Olan, 55. "They're treating him as a sinner." The rally took place in front of Cutié's South Beach parish, St. Francis de Sales church, 621 Alton Rd. "We are gathering together to show our friendship and support for all the work he has done in Miami and around the world," said Yohayra Dajud De La Fuentes, a parishioner and one of the rally's organizers said before the rally. "He changed our lives and is a channel of God's light." Cutié, a national figure with movie star looks, was removed from his Miami Beach church on Tuesday after photographs appeared in a Mexican magazine showing him on a beach with a woman. TVnotas hit the newsstands in Miami on Wednesday. The magazine's cover shows Cutié, 40, laying on his back in blue shorts with an unidentified, brown-haired woman in a dark bathing suit wrapping her legs around him. Other pictures, which TVnotas says were taken over a three-day period in March, include one with Cutié's hand inside the woman's bathing suit touching her posterior. Still another shows the couple kissing at an unidentified terrace bar. The photos came to light about six weeks after paparazzi tried to peddle them locally, but were turned away. Archdiocese of Miami officials, who removed Cutié from his duties at the church, said Wednesday that the priest's future is in his hands. "Father Alberto is taking time to pray; how he proceeds is totally his choice," said archdiocese spokeswoman Mary Ross Agosta. "He is a member of the clergy and, therefore, the archdiocese will assist him in his prayerful journey." "This is a conversation between a priest and his archbishop, like a conversation between a father and a son," she said. "Now Father Albert has some prayerful time ahead of him." In an interview with El Nuevo Herald on Wednesday, the internationally known priest and media personality said he was taking an indefinite leave from the church for "personal reflection." Cutié, who also issued a public apology on Tuesday, declined to identify his companion in the published pictures or talk about their relationship in his brief telephone interview with El Nuevo Herald, The Miami Herald's sister newspaper. "It would be inappropriate. To protect that person it's best not to speak about that. It has been enough already. It's has been too much for me and my family," Cutié told the newspaper, for which he writes a weekly advice column. Contact: Aviglucci@miamiherald.com
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