Former New Jersey Governor Jim
McGreevey has been denied in his bid to become a priest in the
Episcopal Church.
McGreevey, 53, resigned from his post
in 2004 after acknowledging that he's a “gay American” and
admitting to an extramarital affair with Golan Cipel, a McGreevey
appointee.
McGreevey's bitter divorce from Dina
Matos was finalized in 2008. They share joint custody of one child,
Jacqueline.
According to the New York Post,
church leaders have denied his bid to join the priesthood not because
he's gay, but because of his divorce.
“It was not [for] being gay but for
being a jackass – [McGreevey] didn't come out of the whole divorce
looking good,” a source with the Episcopal Diocese of Newark told
the paper.
After leaving politics, McGreevey
converted from Catholicism and earned a master's degree in divinity
from the General Theological Seminary.
The Post reports that it is not
uncommon for first-time bids for priesthood to fail.
McGreevey lives in Plainfield, New
Jersey with Australian real estate executive Mark O'Donnell, his
partner of six years.