'Father Oprah,' Fiancée Set Wedding Date

'Father Oprah' gives first Episcopal sermon to standing ovation

(NEWSER) - His Catholic parish was scandalized when photos surfaced of the Rev. Alberto Cutié cavorting on the beach with a 35-year-old divorceé, but his new Episcopalian flock greeted his first sermon this morning with a standing ovation, reports the Miami Herald. From the altar of Miami’s Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, Cutié told the congregation, which included said 35-year-old divorceé, "I am humbled by your presence here.” More»

(NEWSER) - In scarcely more than a month, Alberto Cutié has gone from celebrity priest to sex scandal poster boy to Episcopalian—now he can add boring old married guy to his resume, reports the AP. The Miami priest who left the Catholic Church amid a racy photo scandal married his secret girlfriend of 2 years yesterday. A judge performed the ceremony. The Vatican has not removed Cutié from the Catholic priesthood, but he is not yet a full-fledged Episcopal priest. More»

He's expected to marry girlfriend and keep preaching

(NEWSER) - The Miami priest who sparked a debate on celibacy earlier this month when he was caught kissing and embracing a woman has left the Roman Catholic church to join the more liberal Episcopalians. The latter doesn’t require chastity for priests, and Alberto Cutié is expected to announce that he’ll marry his girlfriend of 2 years, the Herald reports. More»

Cutié says girlfriend is the love of his life

(NEWSER) - A celebrity priest photographed cavorting with his girlfriend on a beach has hinted Cuban spies might have been tailing him, the Miami Herald reports. "I knew that during some time I was being followed," Father Alberto Cutié told a Spanish-language TV station. "Being Cuban-American, we have that paranoia that perhaps it could be someone from another government, from another place." More»

St. Luke's Parish-Anglican will get new name, but keep married pastor

(NEWSER) - Parishioners of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Maryland arrived at services Sunday and got an unexpected sermon: Rev. Mark Lewis informed the congregation that he and other church leaders wanted the entire parish to convert to Catholicism. “We didn’t know for sure how people would react,” says one person who took part in the two-year planning process. But in the end, only one family out of the church's 100 members wasn't sure about the move. St. Luke's will be the first church to take advantage of new Vatican rules looking to recruit dissatisfied Protestants, the Washington Post reports. More»