BishopAccountability.org
	Media Ignore Priests Who Endure Oath By Jackie Bueno Sousa Miami Herald May 11, 2009 http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/1042084.html My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents Father Alberto Cutie is blessed in many ways. There are the obvious blessings: His family managed to flee an oppressive regime in Cuba, which allowed him to grow up in a free society. He was born with telegenic good looks, which helped him become a media icon. And, as a priest, he achieved a level of success and fame rarely seen in the Catholic Church, enabling him to garner possibly millions of followers. But there are also less obvious blessings. For example, Cutie is lucky to have come into the priesthood at a time when marriage isn't allowed. How is that a blessing? While it's true that traditional marriages were possible in the priesthood during the early formation of the church, it's also true that at times, priests were allowed to marry -- but not to have sex with their wives. TOO MUCH TO ENDURE If you think celibacy and continence are more than any man should be asked to endure, consider the self control required by those asked to abstain from sex while married. That often-forgotten period of Catholic history came to mind as I observed the reaction to recently published photos of Cutie, Miami's celebrity priest, cavorting on a beach with a woman and caressing her in a non-fatherly way. Many people believe the Church's celibacy -- no marriage -- continence -- no sex -- requirements are too stringent in the modern age, as if love and lust didn't exist a thousand years ago. Now, there are some good reasons for the Church to consider changing its rules, which undoubtedly prevent many good people from serving in the priesthood. TEST OF DEVOTION But there are also bad reasons, such as the cries about the hardship of celibacy and continence. Does the oath require a great sacrifice? Well, yes; that's what makes it a sacred vow. The ability to keep it, no matter its origins and however difficult, is a test of devotion. It's a test Cutie apparently is failing. It does not make him a lesser man. But it does, in some ways, prevent him from being a greater one. That the decision of staying with the Church or following his new passion has been Cutie's to make is just another way in which he's blessed. He is like a married man caught in an infidelity, but with the benefit of an understanding and forgiving wife. FREE OF BAD CONSCIENCE But Cutie's greatest blessing may be having been caught in the affair in the first place. If not for that, he may have continued living a lie, putting off the hardship of choosing between two desires, and prolonging the agony of an apprehensive existence, enduring what theologian John Calvin called ``the torture of a bad conscience.'' Not every priest is living such a lie, though media reports make it easy to believe otherwise. We don't focus on them because it's impossible to really know who they are. Instead, we focus on the significance of broken vows, as if it proves anything other than not everyone is worthy of the priesthood. Yes, priests will fail to keep their vow of celibacy, but, in the call for devotion and sacrifice, that may not really matter. What matters are the unnoticed many who will succeed. Contact: jsousa@MiamiHerald.com
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