I was not planning to comment on Father Alberto Cutie, but after his repeated television appearances of late, in which he undercuts the call to celibacy for Catholic priests, I will make a few observations.
It is not at all surprising that Cutie, who was captured by the paparazzi in flagrante delicto, romping on the beach in the passionate embrace of his femme fatal paramour, and who has since left the Catholic fold for the "Anything Goes" Episcopalian communion, is now placing the blame for his own failure, infidelity and renegade brand of the priesthood on the alleged dangers and impracticability of celibacy in the modern world. It makes sense, right? For what is Cutie supposed to do? Admit that he was wrong, that he is the one who erred and violated his sacred vow made before God on the day of his ordination? Is he supposed to apologize for the immeasurable scandal and harm done to the Catholic faithful by his reckless beach frolics, the egregious public violation of his vow, capping it all off with the shameful abandonment of the Catholic Church? Not according to Cutie.
No, original thinker that Cutie is, he judges that the Church is the problem and it is the Church which needs realigning, certainly not his own moral life or his own priorities. So, after shedding Rome and trampling under foot the sacred vow to celibacy (to which he is still bound), the newly minted and liberated Episcopal priest, father and husband is taking to the airwaves, his strong suit to be sure, to advance his cause and explain his actions. Cutie's arrogance is nauseating, his actions, repugnant. I trust that astute viewers will not be seduced by his saccharine crocodile tears and soft-sofa psycho-babble. It's the hallmark of a true narcissus, and not unlike Marin Luther, to turn a blind eye to one's own problems and deep-seated complexes and instead use them as a springboard to launch a new crusade. It's a sophisticated inner defense mechanism to blunt the call of conscience. What Cutie fails to see is that, while yes, celibacy is hard, Catholics have a better way to understand it: a sacrifice. If it weren't a sacrifice, there wouldn't be much depth and meaning to love itself. That's the whole point, isn't it? Celibacy requires a whole lot of will from the individual, and more importantly, what we Catholics call GRACE, and supernatural grace at that, pouring in from God Himself in response to the "Yes!" of the priest. Has Cutie ever heard of grace before?
Cutie calls celibacy "unrealistic". At first blush, given man's profound limitations and shortcomings and his simultaneous call to live in union with God forever and to begin working toward that goal now, I think a lot of what God calls us to do, whether layman or priest, is "unrealistic" from the perspective of the world. But we strive. "For man it is impossible, but for God..." Sometimes we succeed, sometime we fail. But we strive to perfection nevertheless. We don't deny the standard due to our own weaknesses. That would be pride, and pride, wrote C.S. Lewis, "is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense." and also, "It was through pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind." By his actions and words, Cutie proclaims, "I couldn't do it, I failed, which must mean others have no chance as well." The pride on display is striking.
So, is perfection unrealistic? "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." Cutie's logic would counsel: don't bother trying, it's just too damn hard.
By his own granitic inability to accept the mysterious workings of grace in the hearts of priests, Cutie, blinded by pride and passion, myopically closes the door to the operations of God's love in His priests, who follow Christ in a singular way in their celibate state of life, wholly dedicated to Christ's bride, the Church. Few have said it better than the present pontiff: “With the eschatological life of celibacy, the future world of God enters into the realities of our time." This sounds a lot more edifying than Cutie's sophomoric lived axiom of, "Gosh, this is really hard, let's just give up."
Truthfully, given Cutie's predicament, and the path that brought him to this point, he has little credibility on which to stand and the power of the television camera cannot salvage his tarnished reputation. I don't think serious observers take so-called Father Oprah too seriously. Even those who don't understand or agree with the Church's teaching on celibacy can clearly see that Cutie alone is responsible for the violation of his vow, and no one else. And, generally speaking, people don't think much of a man who cannot be trusted to follow through on his word. "A man's word is his bond." Cutie made the vow, he broke it and, sadly, he continues to rationalize it.
Pray for him.
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