Padre Alberto: Why Defend Him?

I am not sure I should stray from the focus of my brother's life and story here, but being that Mike was so involved with the Spanish-speaking Catholic community, I just wanted to add the two-cents that I think he would have added were he alive to do so.

There seems to be a huge number of "Catholics" who are defending the actions of this Father Alberto Cutie and his sexual antics on a beach with his purported lover. The fact is, this kind of thing happens from time to time with priests and, though it is rare, it is a fact that some men have not been called to the priesthood but rather, called the priesthood to themselves. This is what I believe to be the case with Padre Alberto.

He was quoted as saying: "Since I was young, I always dreamed of being married, [of] having 10 children."

Why then, would he become a priest? Why would he pretend to devote his life to a parish or to the church as a whole? It's just not possible.

One of the things that made Michael Sepp such a great priest was his complete and utter commitment to his parishioners and to the Catholic Church and all it stood for. He never would have been able to perform his priestly duties to the extent which he did if he were involved with a family. He was awesome when it came to trying to make time for his siblings, parents and nieces and nephews; but he nearly always arrived late and left early to any family gathering. A wife would never be able to put up with that. Children would be hurt by that. These are precisely the reasons behind the Catholic church's stance on priestly marriage.

It is clear that this Padre Alberto was never interested in being a priest. He spent nearly all of his time (it would seem from how much time he spent in the spotlight) as a journalist, reporter, novelist...he is an "entertainer" and not someone who has devoted his life to God and His church. Why defend him?

I don't say you should condemn him either. He is simply a man. He has to follow his heart. He has to live his life. I just think he has no business proselytizing to anyone and if anything this whole scandal should be a wake-up call to anyone who bends too quickly to the words of someone on TV or the radio or in a newspaper. You don't know these people. You can't act like they're your friends and you shouldn't take advice from them because you really don't know where they're coming from either intellectually or spiritually. Those images on TV are ghosts. Those words on the radio are just words.

A good priest is recognized by what he does and how he lives his life. Simplicity, adherence to doctrine, compassion, hard work: these are the qualities that made Michael such a good priest and such a fantastic person.