Just weeks ago Oprah Winfrey
stepped down from her 25-year-run as the ultimate talk show star.
Now
some are hailing a former Roman Catholic priest as the one to fill the
void.
Father Alberto Cutié hit headlines in 2009
when he was photographed cavorting with a woman on a Miami beach.
He
soon left the Roman Catholic Church in the name of pursuing the woman he loved, but wished to continue serving God as a married man.
The following year, Father Alberto was
received as an Episcopal priest.
Now the 42-year-old family man is
getting ready to help Americans, from all walks of life, solve an array
of jaw-dropping personal problems in a daily single-topic talk show “Father Albert.”
“My personal dilemma was so publicized ...
people are now coming on this show to really talk about their deepest
dilemmas and struggles,” Father
Albert told FOX411’s Pop Tarts.
“That’s what the show is really about,
people coming to address issues – almost anything that has to do with
relationships, family, issues that people usually don’t want to talk
about or deal with in a different place. These are all issues we see on Dr. Phil,
Dr. Oz and other shows, but certainly from a different perspective.
You’re coming to speak to a priest, someone coming from a point of
compassion and understanding.”
Father Albert hopes to combine his television commitments with his Sunday sermons.
“I always say that I’m not a TV priest, I’m a
priest that works in TV. My real passion is my work in the church, my
preaching and guiding people,” he said.
“My parish work is essential to
my life, to my spirituality, and who I am as a person.”
A
nd as far as the comparisons to Ms. Winfrey go, Albert considers it a great compliment.
“If you look at the 25 years of Oprah’s
show, they really have been self-help shows, shows where people have
learned to live a better life,” he said.
“I think it’s a compliment,
because I really believe what we do on our show is to help people with
their struggles and dilemmas, with a different approach than what Ms.
Winfrey took on, but we certainly do want the results to be that people
are living their best lives.”