The Death of Canela Cafe'

Tonight my family and friends mourn the death of a large part of our lives for the last 4 years; Canela Cafe'. Another casualty of this horrible recession, she was unable to heal from hemorraging money. She was born January 14, 2005 and died September 14, 2009. Canela Cafe' was more than just a place to get some "Latin Soul Food", it was an integral part of the community in which it resided; the Design District area or Miami's Upper East side as developers like to call it. She was birthed and tirelessly maintained from day one, 7 days a week for 4 years by her doting mother, Margarita Vasallo. It was her sole passion in life. So much so, that you could taste it in every bite of the scrumptious menu.

You could literally savor the unprocessed love dripping from every morsel as if she were the chef in the classic movie, Like Water for Chocolate. People may have complained about the service now and then but her magic touch for good ol' sazon' was without reproach. She won the awards, Best Cuban Food in Miami by New Times 2 months after opening and earlier this year, Best Tapas in Miami. She attracted the likes of foodie, Chris Cognac from the Food Detective and even hosted indpendent films with Madonna's baby daddy, Carlos Leon. Gloria Estefan ate there and even Miami's own hollywood starlet, Catherine Keener. The oasis of comfort food or as I liked to call it "community center" affected so many and had so many lives intertwined that it took on a life of it's own in many ways. It was the epitome of the American Dream for a second generation Cuban exile living in America recreating the cafe' her grandfather left behind on Havana's malecon in the famed art deco gem, Lopez Serrano building. The walls were lined with photos of family past and present and all who came to eat felt like they were at a family gathering. The good times and good food shared within it's hearth will live on in the hearts and minds of the souls that were lucky enough to discover her hidden charm in the middle of MIA. She nourished a community not only with food but with pure love and a heartfelt desire to host a good time for all.

If you've ever had the pleasure of tasting her food or spending time in Canela, please go to her Facebook page and post any good memories that you can recall. It will mean the world to a mother who gave so much to her community.

Fiestas De Gracia y Sants - Barcelona 2009

Returning to one of my favorite cities on this planet was a much anticipated event. It was made possible thanks to my sister paying my way so I could escort her kids over so they could enjoy their summer vacation with their Spanish cousins in a Villa about 2 hours from Barcelona. Being Julie Andrews in The Sound Of Music was an unexpectedly enriching experience for me. It was the first time that I was absolutely responsible for three children ranging from ages 7-15. I, for a moment was a parent and it felt pretty darn good. I didn't have too much trouble on our 15 hour voyage from Boston to Barcelona as my sister's kids are about the best kids you will ever find. Their personalities are as if they were adults trapped in a kid's body. Ever so aware and conscious of the world around them with a kid's sense of humor. My smallest niece started collecting all the vomit bags from the plane's seats and I was soon amused at the reason why. She was drawing faces on each one and making hand puppets out of them. Who would've thought that a vomit bag could be used as an entertainment device. How's that for ingenuity?

Arriving in the uber-modern new airport terminal at Barcelona airport, we were quickly whisked away to the country to the small town of Banyoles. We pulled up to a very old, stone villa remodeled and with a beautiful, modern pool (the only one in town). The villa overlooked a small valley, olive trees and all. It was as picturesque as a Goya painting.

The honeymoon ended quickly after spending a very hot and moist night barely catching any sleep as a result of a wild hog (Javali') screaming underneath my window as if a woman was getting raped and a bat flying into my room and hitting me on my forehead (no joke). Summer in Spain is just as hot as summer in Miami, difference is Miami has air conditioning. It didn't help that there was a pig farm next town over that deposited a thick aroma of pig poop into the air on it's way up the hill to our villa. I learned how to control my gag reflex about every 5 minutes. Needless to say, I was at the Bus Station on the 3rd day to visit my high school crush, Ivy (before I knew I was a big homo) in the energetic and ever so bohemian city of Barcelona. Bye Bye Banyoles.

The last time I had visited the "other Magic city" it was december and very chilly. I had no idea that it was OK to wear flip flops, shorts and tank tops in an European city. In Italy it is a faux-pas to wear shorts because it reminds Italians of when they were forced to wear dorky long shorts when they were kids. This trip I avoided the typical Gaudi tourist stops as I had seen them last year. I focused on parks and walking the different historic and rich neighborhoods. My all time fave is the Born neighborhood which is a European version of SoHo. Lots of original boutiques, great fashion, cafe's, cool people and of course my "gays". Born has a very large park and is very close to La Barceloneta beach area. It's the medieval core of the city with narrow cobblestone streets and cathedrals intact.

The weekend arrived and Ivy decided that we should go to see the festival of Fiestas De Gracia y Sants which are two different neighborhoods that have been doing this street thang for about 750 years now. The city was originally called Barcino by Hannibal's dad who founded it about 2000 years ago, has a hefty lead on Miami on throwing a party. They do it in spades. The yearly street party is a well oiled machine and community leaders take part in designing and coordinating the year's designs in the same way the Samba schools in Brazil plan and compete for their carnivals throughout the year. This year, all the designs had to be executed with recyclable materials. There was Indiana Jones, Temple of Doom replete with Aliens, Japanese Gardens, Monte Carlo Casino every street was different. There was one surreal street lined with toys and candy and was made even more cool with a Cuban band playing and kids drinking mojitos. Each street had their own bands or DJ's, bars, and tons of people from all over the world just having a good time chillaxin'.

The climax was the battle of the tribes, Les Dracs (the dragons), Colla Vella (old devil's tail) and Diabolica (the devilish ones). This consisted of a good old fashioned street battle where each tribe tries to pass and the other blocks with walls of people and taunting chants. They finally break through the blockaded narrow streets with explosions and fireworks spraying everyone, including the onlookers. My badge of honor was about 10 burned spots on my scalp as well as my shirt. Marching bands of drummers followed the opening of the blockades followed with hundreds of onlookers and visitors laughing, drinking and dancing. It was a page out of a Roman Bacchanalian feast. The high was like no other. I ended up dancing in the middle of a plaza with my new-found friend named Giusi (juicy) from Naples who came to visit the city years ago and never went back home.

The finale was in the main plaza with a balcony stuffed with the community's leaders overlooking the performance, the large dragon and Gaudi's iguana from Park Guell came through and sprayed a volcano of fireworks over everyone then fire throwers and music ensued. Everyone was rolling on the same good vibration. It was one of those nights you store away in your brain and take out on "blue" days, the memory bringing peace in the knowing that you've lived a little in this life.

I believe every trip you take changes you a little. You learn things about others and about yourself, how these two entities relate to each other and how colorful and wonderful our world is.

I learned that you should never not sit at the lunch table in Spain even though you aren't hungry. In Spain, lunch is very important.

I learned that you should definitely pack tank tops and sandals when you go to Spain in the summer.

I learned that it's perfectly legal to be completely naked in the streets of Barcelona but walking around without your shirt on is not permitted.

I learned that while salaries really suck in Spain, they find a way to live a really good life with a lot less money but they complain just as much as Americans do about not having enough money.

I learned that Catalonians don't really have much that is taboo to them. They are pretty much cool about anything. They are dignified like the French and proud of their country but are much more relaxed about it.

I learned that if you're Muslim and if you live in Banyoles you will be very pissed at the constant smell of pig shit wafting it's way into your nostrils at every moment of every day.

Most of all I learned that you don't ask a married woman if she's "caliente" in front of her husband because it doesn't mean "hot", it means "sexually turned on".

http://w3.bcn.es/V01/Serveis/Noticies/V01NoticiesLlistatNoticiesCtl/0,2138,290652295_302361084_2_929558397,00.html?accio=detall&home=

http://www.tribunalatina.com/es/notices/fiestas_de_gracia_y_sants_en_barcelona_13546.php
http://www.festamajordegracia.cat/

Brief history of Barcelona as a city: http://www.cursos.org/cee/eng/ba

Why You Have to See Bruno the Movie

Going in to the movie; Bruno I had heard why the gay community was up and arms about a scene in the film where an adopted baby was in a hot tub with uber-gay, femme fatale Bruno and his gay playmates while one was eating another guy's arse. The producers apparently promised to remove the scene but never did. I fully expected it to be a "it's your turn gays" to take some satire and some tongue-in-cheek jabs at ourselves (as if we haven't had enough already). Regardless, I am open to these tests and I went anyway. Going in, I realized how few of my gay brethren were in attendance. Being a theater in the heart of the gay mecca that is South Beach hetero\homo ratio is about 50/50. The audience was actually very straight, about 95% on the Kinsey's scale. There were a good amount of African American viewers as well which is uncommon to the area as well. The movie took me through so many uncomfortable yet funny moments that I found myself covering my face and hiding behind my girlfriend's shoulder from the embarrasingly gay, screaming nelly on the screen. Growing up yearning to see my people represented in film, I finally got my wish but not in the same way I envisioned. It was unbearable to see all the extreme stereotypes that I have dreamed would one day be cleared away as soon as Richard Simmons passed away.

As Sacha Baron Cohen's (a straight Jew from London) antics progressed I realized that the film was not poking fun at the gay way of life but at society's extreme stereotypes of us and the extreme factions within our society that are vehemently opposed to our ways. As the theater emptied I took joy in seeing the confused faces of all the folks who thought they were going to a Hollywood sanctioned gay-bashing. The joke was on them. They paid 10 dollars each to see a reflection of a part of themselves in the homophobic, backward-ass cretans and religious freaks that hate us so for no good reason apart from that society has always reassured them that they they're right and we are wrong. Bruno left them with a lot to think about and with a possibly newfound motivation but nevertheless a motivation to separate themselves from the neanderthals on the screen. Don't reject Bruno for being such a flaming homo just yet, he might just be our best ally yet.

Bruno hits Miami:


Bruno at a Christian Rock concert:


Bruno vs. Skinheads:

A Brief History of Gay Icons- Why We Love 'em

There's a quote from a Woody Allen movie, Celebrity: "You can tell a lot about a society by the people they choose to celebrate.". So why do the gays obsess about some celebrities and have lukewarm feelings about others? Why was Farrah Fawcett a gay icon yet Michael Jackson not?

Decades before oh-so-gay Sir Elton John penned the song Candle In the Wind, Marilyn Monroe was already my protector spirit, my concept of perfection in a human and thousands of gays along with me were already in love with the vulnerable, sexy, nymph-queen of America. Marilyn is still our modern-day Aphrodite. An immortal star amongst the gods of Mt. Hollywood. Why are Judy Garland, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Britney Spears, Princess Diana, Cher, Angelina Jolie, Kylie Minogue all godesses to us gays? They all share common demoninators. They were not supposed to be the stars they had become, they fed on tragedy and struggle, transforming it into grace and enviable beauty. Above all, these tortured souls had a certain flamboyance to the way they lived their lives so fiercely, slicing through any obstacles or critics like a hot knife through butter. It's an added bonus if they have a biting, acerbic wit like Bette Midler, Lilly Tomlin, Sandra Bernhard and the queen of sardonism; Kathy Griffin. It's funny how this sub-group of gay icons are traditionally awkward, ugly ducklings. It's part of their appeal to us. Wouldn't it be great to see a new gay icon come about that can combine the beauty of Marilyn with the wicked comedic talent of Kathy Griffin? That would be a Super-gay icon and a one-stop shop of entertainment for the gay masses.

My reasons why I related to Marilyn were many. How she found a way to get away with being herself even though 1950's America didn't appreciate a woman of her openly sexual expression. How she smiled away her inner turmoil and magically extracted beauty from pain. How she wanted children so badly she kept trying even though her body betrayed her and repeatedly miscarried. How she harnessed her sexual prowess to get whatever she wanted in life but she couldn't find her one true love to make her feel safe in the world. Most intriguing, was the aura about her. Her light would lift my spirits and get me through the worst growing pains of my teenage years. She was a guiding light in my quest to find my true self. My room was plastered with posters of Marilyn on every spare inch of my walls and I read just about every book written on her short life. Her wall space quickly became shared with Farrah Fawcett as I fell further into puberty and Charlie's Angel's became the hottest thing on TV.

Today no one questions why Transformer hottie, Megan Fox would tattoo Marilyn's visage on her forearm or why Madonna has emulated her at various stages in her life in style, video, even living her same trials with failed relationships. Marilyn is still very much alive generations later. She is still on the yearly Forbes list of top grossing dead celebrities among which Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, Andy Warhol are also listed.

I remember how thousands of straight white and black men idolized Michael Jackson trying their hardest to emulate his smooth moves and add to their "game" with the ladies, spending $400- for the latest Thriller or Beat It leather jacket. Still, Michael didn't cut it as a gay icon even though all his mannerisms and flair, signaled he was one of us. It had a lot to do with the fact that he never really came out. It's hard to relate to a celebrity when it's not really clear what they are or what they feel strongly about. Last report from a close friend was that he was none of the above and was asexual. Elizabeth Taylor once said in an interview, "he was not from this Earth".

Whoever said that gays hate women definitely do not know us at all. Ironically, 99.9% of gay icons are women. We adore women because we empathize with them. We have been heartbroken by the same male dogs as our women counterparts. We struggle in a world that considers feminity a weakness. We are in essence, stuck in the same game.

Another gay icon was Princess Diana, not just for her work to raise awareness and funds to fight AIDS but for her poise, her quiet rebellion, her audacious smile in the face of so many rigid constraints and how she glided through all those obstacles to make a real change in the world and unintentionally making herself a heroine for so many. She is one of the few celebrity deaths that inflicted a pang on the hearts of so many wolrdwide when news of her tragic death reached the news. The world was not ready to let go of her light and is still lamenting her loss to this day.

We see the tragedy in these goddesses that we have in ourselves. Their staying power in our minds is how they tirelessly struggled to get what they couldn't ever get. For Marilyn it was true love and to have a child. It's not surprising why Lindsay Lohan, Anna Nicole Smith are among the many modern day starlets that idolize her. Britney Spears is so emotionally connected to Marilyn that she purchased her cemetery plot next to her's in Hollywood Forever Cemetery and even owns a pair of her jeans. It's no mistake that Britney's Circus album mirrors Marilyn's shoot with photographer Milton H. Greene's titled, Marilyn At The Circus. http://www.miltons-marilyn-monroe.com/marilyn-monroe/pictures/marilyn-monroe-circus/index.html#11

Although today's gay youth connect more to Britney than Marilyn, her stronghold to the title of modern-day Aphrodite has yet to find a competitor memorable enough to topple her from her post. Her grace was never before seen but hopefully will be seen again tomorrow. Who will be our next gay icon? It definitely won't be Lindsey.

Enjoy the never before published pictures above of a 24 year old Marilyn before she was "somebody". The quotes below are Marilyn's as well.

• Creativity has got to start with humanity and when you're a human being, you feel, you suffer.
  
• What good is it being Marilyn Monroe? Why can't I just be an ordinary woman? A woman who can have a family ... I'd settle for just one baby. My own baby.
  
• I have too many fantasies to be a housewife.... I guess I am a fantasy.
  
• It's better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone.


• It's better for the whole world to know you, even as a sex star, than never to be known at all.


• Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.
• The body is meant to be seen, not all covered up.
  
• Sex is part of nature. I go along with nature.
  
• Being a sex symbol is a heavy load to carry, especially when one is tired, hurt and bewildered.
  
• 1956 interview about her childhood: Looking back, I guess I used to play-act all the time. For one thing, it meant I could live in a more interesting world than the one around me.
• Also from Lee Strasberg's eulogy: Marilyn Monroe was a legend. In her lifetime she created a myth of what a poor girl from a deprived background could attain. For the entire world she became a symbol of the eternal feminine.
  

A recent exhibit at London's National Portrait Gallery titled "Gay Icons"

Lindsay Lohan's Marilyn spread: http://gawker.com/5003223/

Forbes list of top grossing dead celebrities: http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=8224314961475453790&postID=27334113954995277

Britney buys cemetery plot next to Marilyn's: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/news/article_1410248.php/

Blog about idolatry: http://www.star-gazings.com/2009/02/idolizing-dead-celebrity-is-far-often.html

"F" You Very Much Against Homophobia-When a Video Becomes as Viral as Swine Flu

Every now in a while an artist takes a stand and shows the world what it really means to be a "superstar". Like Lupe Fiasco's song, Superstar - "If you are what you say you are. A superstar then have no fear". Lily Allen has proven herself to be this realtime version of a "superstar". So much so that even Lupe would answer his own question, "Did you improve on the design?". This young Brit has, by creating a song that is all at once brash and cocky, yet positive with a punch in the face to the bigots of the world warning that the generational shift is happening and this new generation is not going to put up with the religious-sponsored hatred and conservatism that is holding us back. Hatred is hatred in it's many forms and disguises and this "new guard" isn't going to be so tolerant as my generation or previous ones have been. Lily originally wrote the song protesting a conservative political party in Great Britian, similar to our Republicans.


Lily Allen -"this song is not a direct attack at anyone, it was originally written about the BNP in the UK but then I felt this issue has become relevant pretty much everywhere, we are the youth, we can make coolness for our future, its up to us. Go green and hate hate."

Stevie Bee Bishop, a young Australian, native to Brisbane with his own You Tube channel decided to create a video to combat hate against LGBT people after seeing so much of his people being targeted online. He didn't have intentions of becoming a world wide phenom or of creating offshoots of his original video that would spread the globe from his fresh original seed video. His video is full of cameos from fellow gay bloggers from all over You Tube, the new gaylutionaries. A French blog http://www.gayclic.com/articles/_fuck_you_a_l_homophobie_.html created a homage to Stevie Bee's original video and added more clips from all over the web creating a world wide message to bigots from "us gays", the new gays.

While we may have lost many leaders, fighters and so many talented brethren, so many new ones are born every day. This movement will never die nor will this world ever be without it's gays. This french homage video was released on the International Day Against Homophobia, 2009, May 17th and is a perfect example of how viral and organic movements occur online and how if the moment and content is right a revolution can be born overnight.

You go Lily Allen! You go Stevie Bee Bishop! You go GayClic! You are carving out a new world that we will ALL want to live in!

Stevie Bee's original call for video entries on YouTube:

Stevie Bee's finished product:



The French GayClic's inspired video homage to Stevie Bee's original video:


Lily Allen - GWB (Fuck You Very Much) Lyrics:
Look inside, look inside your tiny mind
and look a bit harder
cause we’re so uninspired
so sick and tired
of all the hatred you harbor

so you say it’s not okay to be gay
well I think you’re just evil
you’re just some racist who can’t tie my laces
you’re point of view is medieval

Fuck you, fuck you very very much
cause we hate what you do
and we hate your whole crew
so please don’t stay in touch

fuck you, fuck you very very much
cause your words don’t translate
and it’s getting quite late
so please don’t stay in touch

do you get, do you get a little kick out of being small-minded?
you want to be like your father
it’s approval you’re after
well that’s not how you’ll find it

do you, do you really enjoy living a life that’s so hateful
cause there’s a hole where your soul should be
you’re losing control of it
and it’s really distasteful

Fuck you, fuck you very very much
cause we hate what you do
and we hate your whole crew
so please don’t stay in touch

Fuck you, fuck you very very much
cause your words don’t translate
and it’s getting quite late
so please don’t stay in touch

Look inside, look inside your tiny mind
and look a bit harder
cause we’re so uninspired
so sick and tired
of all the hatred you harbor

Fuck you, fuck you very very much
cause we hate what you do
and we hate your whole crew
so please don’t stay in touch

Fuck you, fuck you very very much
cause your words don’t translate
and it’s getting quite late
so please don’t stay in touch

Subscribe to this new generation of gay revolutionary (gaylutionary) -Stevie Bee Bishop's world changing You Tube channel:
http://youtube.com/steviedidit

Download Lily's song for free here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?iyzgu5nzzvo

French blog featuring the video homage to homo-haters:http://www.gayclic.com/articles/les_gaycliqueurs_disent_fuck_you_a_l_homophobie_en_video_.html

International Day against Homophobia campaign:
http://www.homophobiaday.org/

Padre Alberto's Truth- You Decide?

I've always believed there are no coincidences in life. This latest scandal from Miami is another confirmation of that belief. 3 weeks ago I blogged about how the church's stance on requiring celibacy of it's priests was an outdated discipline that's time has come to end and serendipitously comes a pretty huge scandal involving one of it's brightest stars, Father Albert Cutie' of breaking his vow of celibacy. Undoubtedly, an asset to the church and a liasion bringing younger generations of followers to this antiquated religious belief system with his fresh candor, relevant sermons and pure passion to bring God into people's lives. No one can ever take away his passion and the good that he has done in making the church seem a lot more friendly and a lot less confined and stale to contemporary-minded Americans.

This pastor to his small church of St. Francis on 6th and Alton on Miami Beach has touched millions with his message and mission through his best selling books, talk and radio show as well as weekly editorial for the Miami Herald. He has earned his credibility and celebrity status. With the looks of an actor you would think the church purposely casted him in this role as a good PR move, this Father Cutie' is a cutie and the Church's best assets today.

Still, this breaking news and salacious story of his love affair with a woman just doesn't jive with what I know this man to be. An intelligent, measured, dignified and very astute man would never get caught en flagrante over a period of 3 days no less doing something that he was fully aware would get him fired from the church he loves so dearly. A church he has devoted his entire life to promoting and defending. Unless it was a deliberate plea to become accepted by the Holy Father or a desperate plea to hide something more damaging? There have been rumors circulating on South Beach that the real reason was that he was in a long term relationship with a man and that it was coming to a head after said man threatened to blackmail him with threats of going to the media with evidence of their relationshiop. This may have been the Father's desperate attempt to beat the whistle blower to the pass and diffuse any possibility to defame him in the eyes of the church and the world even further. Regardless of motive, this is another blaring example of the church's inability to evolve with the times and proof of it's decreasing relevance to contemporary human beings. Neither heterosexual nor homosexual affairs should be causes to bring down a man that has done so much and brought so many to a church that is every day becoming more and more of an endangered species.

A professor at FIU and friend of Father Albert Cutie' for years, Uva de Aragon, was quoted "Frankly, this was not very smart, flouting what you are doing. Did he want to get caught?" If he did want to protest the church's policy on celibacy, he would've done it in a more dignified and self-respecting manner by publically resigning with a statement protesting the church's policy. Instead he was photographed and busted. Immediately after the photos' were publicized in TVnotas, the Archdiocese of Miami announced on Tuesday that Father Cutié, was suspended from preaching at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, he also lost his gig hosting his show on Pax Catholic Communications.

Father Albert told Hispanic Magazine in 2007 "I'm not the priest for the regular Catholic crowd," "I made that decision a long time ago. I'm the priest for the lost sheep. Which is why I do the media thing and the press thing and the book thing."-Thats' fine and dandy but then why would you knowingly get caught over a period of 3 days with public displays of affection with a woman on the beach that you preach in that is about 5 square miles? Couldn't he have taken a trip to Croatia or somewhere else obscure? That is way too below his level of intelligence. Unless it was an orchestrated spin-doctoring of his own to avoid a much larger one.

After being placed on leave he has reportedly been sent by Archbishop of Miami John C. Favalora to an undisclosed location to pray and reflect upon his fall from grace. The latest "story" from the church now is that he decided to take a leave of absence to reflect on his situation. It's no wonder Republicans are so adept at spin doctoring situations to fit their needs. They perfected their craft learning by example at mass every Sunday.

Like the ever so enigmatic message by Gaudi' engraved on the entrance doors of the Cathedral La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, "Que es la verita'?". When will the Church come clean and finally tell us the truth? Here's your chance Mr. Pope Benedict to prove to the world that you aren't going to extinguish yourselves in your stubborness from evolving. Shed this farce of a policy that has led to so much scandal and pain. It would be a small start.

Hey and if Father Albert doesn't get reinstated, he can always preach at an Episcopalian church. They have no celibacy restrictions.

History of Celibacy in the Catholic Church

• Peter, the first pope, and the apostles that Jesus chose were, for the most part, married men. The New Testament implies that women presided at eucharistic meals in the early church.


• Eleventh Century-1045-Pope Boniface IX dispensed himself from celibacy and resigned in order to marry.


• 1074-Pope Gregory VII said anyone to be ordained must first pledge celibacy: ‘priests [must] first escape from the clutches of their wives.’


• 1095-Pope Urban II had priests’ wives sold into slavery, children were abandoned.


• The Roman Catholic church has left the policy or "discipline" virtually unchanged for the past 900 years, saying it allows for a dedication to God and the church without distraction.

Popes who were married

1. St. Peter, ApostleSt. Felix III 483-492 (2 children)


2. St. Hormidas 514-523 (1 son)


3. St. Silverus (Antonia) 536-537


4. Hadrian II 867-872 (1 daughter)


5. Clement IV 1265-1268 (2 daughters)


6. Felix V 1439-1449 (1 son)

Impassioned apology from Father Albert Cutie's website: http://www.padrealberto.net/

STATEMENT FROM FATHER ALBERT CUTIÉ
Before God - full of love and mercy - I ask for the forgiveness of those who may be hurt or saddened by my actions. Since I entered the seminary at the age of 18, the priesthood has brought me great joy. The commitment that I made to serve God will remain intact. I am grateful for the love and support I have received today from so many in our community, especially my parishioners and the supporters of the radio stations who have demonstrated great compassion and understanding toward me as a human being. I ask for your continued prayers and support.
Father Albert Cutié

Story of celebrity Priest punished for being in love: http://www.miamiherald.com/459/story/1033259.html

Fascinating blog on Archbishop Milingo's crusade to end the church's celibacy policy:http://fatherjoe.wordpress.com/2006/07/13/archbishop-milingo-schism-over-married-priests/

How Milingo's brief marriage mysteriously ended after the Pope personally visited him: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2482321.stm

Palm Beach news story of Father Albert's stance on the matter: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2009/05/07/0507priestfuture.html

Pope upholds centuries old policy of celibacy in 2007: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,258442,00.html

History of Celibacy in the church: http://www.futurechurch.org/fpm/history.htm

Another bloggers entry regarding the scandal:
http://elcabezadepuerco.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/y-esta-alberto-el-cura/