BishopAccountability.org
	Cutie Trades Good Graces Alberto Cutie's Exit from the Catholic Church Is Expected to Attract More Hispanics to the Episcopal Church, and Sour Relations between the Two By Jaweed Kaleem Miami Herald May 30, 2009 http://www.miamiherald.com/news/5min/story/1072731.html A day after celebrity priest Alberto Cutie left the Catholic church, there was a considerable buzz surrounding the small Biscayne Park congregation where he's to give his first sermon Sunday as a new member of the Episcopal church. But Cutie's abandonment of the Archdiocese of Miami came with a price. Archbishop John C. Favalora expressed scorn at the move and said that Cutie's new bishop -- Leo Frade -- has disrespected Favalora and South Florida's biggest church. On Thursday, Favalora said Cutie is still "bound by his promise" to remain celibate. On Friday, Frade responded that he was still "researching the correctness" of Favalora's claim. The two men have not spoken to each other in person for two years. "We try to not step on each other's toes," Frade said of the two churches, which were once united but have historically disagreed over fundamental issues. Cutie will face his first test Sunday, when he preaches -- as a lay person, not a priest -- during services at the Church of the Resurrection. He will preach in English and Spanish. "The secretary at the Church of the Resurrection told me the phone has not stopped ringing since the news broke," said Rafael Garcia, a priest at St. Philip's Episcopal in Coral Gables. Frade now has a key player in recruiting new members to a small, traditionally white church that is a fraction of the size of South Florida's Catholic church. The Archdiocese of Miami has lost its most popular representative, and someone who was able to turn around multiple ailing parishes and bring young Catholics into the fold. The ailing Church of the Resurrection only has a few dozen members, but can fit more than 200 in its pews. It is the first among many that Frade said he wants Cutie to rehabilitate. Another: Church of the Holy Comforter -- a struggling parish in Little Havana with a few dozen Spanish-speaking members. When Cutie stepped into St. Francis de Sales -- his former Catholic parish -- in 2005, it had a similarly small congregation of a few dozen members. Cutie quickly packed the empty pews; when he left, it had 500 families. THE MISSION AHEAD Cutie now brings his skills -- his resume includes wildly popular radio, TV and print appearances -- to the table for South Florida's 38,000 Episcopalians. "He's a very well-prepared person with a lot of charisma," said Garcia, who leads one of the church's few Hispanic congregations and was present during Cutie's reception Thursday. Of the more than 80 Episcopal churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida, which stretches from Jensen Beach to Key West, 15 have Spanish-speaking congregations. To compare: There are more than 117 Catholic churches in South Florida, and dozens offer Spanish services. "It's a white-and-black, but not Hispanic, church. It's a group we have really neglected. We need to reach everybody," Frade said Friday. "Episcopalians are not known for being very aggressive. I'm hoping he will help us -- in both English and Spanish." MAKING ADJUSTMENTS Cutie must now reconcile advice doled out during 14 years of Catholic priesthood with more liberal Episcopal traditions. The Episcopal church is the U.S.-wing of the Anglican communion, which broke from Rome in the 16th century after the excommunication of Queen Elizabeth I, the church's head. The two groups had strained relations until the 1960s. The Episcopal church approves the use of contraception within marital relationships and ordains women, for example, unlike the Catholic church. The Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire also has an openly gay, non-celibate bishop -- a close friend of Frade's who visited South Florida in the winter. In addition, Episcopalians do not see the pope as their leader. And Episcopal priests can marry. Cutie has said he will marry his girlfriend in an act that was forbidden to him as a Catholic priest. "We don't want [Cutie] to be a Roman Catholic priest who is just with us. We want him to be an Anglican priest who is married. You really need to know the way we think," said Frade, who said Cutie first approached him two years ago with questions about the church. "I think that's what led him to the church -- that he feels more like us. He's a very smart person who uses his brain."
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.