A New Mexico archbishop reinstated a priest to active ministry and promoted him to oversee marriages despite the man spending a decade in a registered same-sex domestic partnership and publicly advocating for homosexual unions.

The Peculiar Return from a Three-Decade Absence

Fr. Steve Rosera left active priesthood in 1993 as a rising star in the Santa Fe Archdiocese, where he served as Vocations Director and assistant judicial vicar. He resurfaced 28 years later with full priestly faculties restored by Archbishop John Wester. The intervening years tell a story fundamentally at odds with Catholic teaching on celibacy and the priesthood. From 2005 to 2017, Rosera registered a domestic partnership with another man in San Francisco, a legal arrangement California created as a precursor to same-sex marriage. This decade-long relationship occurred while Rosera remained canonically a priest under vows of celibacy.

Rosera’s activism extended beyond personal arrangements. In March 2015, he added his signature to a Human Rights Campaign amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide in Obergefell v. Hodges. The following June, after the Court’s decision, Rosera posted “Happy Pride” messages adorned with rainbow flags and pink triangles. These public acts placed him squarely in opposition to the Catholic Church’s official position on marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman. The dissolution of his partnership in 2017 came with an unusual twist: his former partner soon married another man, creating timeline questions about the relationship’s actual end.

Unprecedented Promotions and Positions of Authority

Wester’s decision to reinstate Rosera would raise eyebrows on its own. The subsequent promotions defy conventional prudence. Rosera now serves as pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Albuquerque, giving him spiritual authority over an entire congregation. He oversees the parish’s K-8 school, placing him in proximity to children whose parents received no disclosure about his background. Wester appointed him dean of a priestly deanery, granting him administrative oversight of fellow priests. Most remarkably, Rosera sits as a judge and Defender of the Bond on the diocesan marriage tribunal, the very body that rules on whether sacramental marriages are valid.

The irony of this final appointment cannot be overstated. A man who publicly advocated for redefining marriage and spent a decade simulating marriage with another man now judges the validity of heterosexual Catholic unions. The Defender of the Bond role specifically tasks him with defending the marriage bond’s integrity. Anonymous clergy within the diocese confirm that Wester knew Rosera’s full history when making these appointments. They also report that Rosera continues promoting homosexuality and those who practice it, though fear of retribution keeps them from speaking publicly. The shared residence between archbishop and reinstated priest adds another layer of irregularity to an already troubling situation.

Canonical Questions and Missing Accountability

Canon Law imposes severe penalties for priests who violate celibacy, particularly through acts the Church classifies as gravely sinful. Rosera’s registered partnership and marriage advocacy would traditionally trigger formal canonical proceedings, potentially leading to laicization or dismissal from the clerical state. No evidence suggests such proceedings occurred. Wester restored Rosera’s faculties without public explanation or requirement for transparent repentance. The reinstatement came in January 2021, and by October of that year, Rosera celebrated Mass for “National Coming Out Day,” publishing a parish bulletin letter supporting civil unions while criticizing what he termed “judgmentalism” toward LGBT individuals.

The absence of disclosed penance or public acknowledgment of wrongdoing represents a departure from how the Church historically handled priestly failures. Mercy and forgiveness form core Catholic principles, yet they traditionally operate alongside accountability and demonstrated conversion. Rosera’s continued activism suggests either no conversion occurred or the archbishop sees no conflict between Church teaching and celebrating sexual orientations the Catechism describes as objectively disordered. Wester himself holds progressive positions, moderating the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, which supports women’s ordination and LGBT inclusion. He defended Catholic Relief Services projects that promoted contraception and masturbation. He cited Fiducia Supplicans, a controversial 2023 Vatican document on blessings, to justify extending blessings to same-sex couples.

The Broader Crisis of Clerical Integrity

This situation unfolds against decades of Catholic clergy scandals that eroded lay trust in ecclesiastical leadership. The Santa Fe Archdiocese itself faced scrutiny over accountability failures in past abuse cases. Parents sending children to schools expect bishops to maintain basic standards for those granted authority over their families. The decision to place a man with Rosera’s history in charge of a K-8 school without disclosure violates that fundamental expectation. Investigative outlets like the Lepanto Institute brought the story to public attention in 2025, yet the archdiocese issued no statement, and Rosera remains in all his positions.

The silence speaks volumes. When confronted with documented facts about a priest’s decade in a homosexual partnership and ongoing advocacy against Church teaching, leadership chose opacity over transparency. The term “lavender mafia” emerges in traditionalist Catholic circles to describe networks of clergy who protect and promote men with homosexual inclinations or practices regardless of canonical violations. Whether that framework applies here depends on facts only a thorough investigation could establish. What remains beyond dispute: a Catholic archbishop elevated a priest whose public record contradicts the faith he is ordained to teach and safeguard. No amount of pastoral language about mercy justifies placing such a man in positions requiring unimpeachable moral authority, particularly over the marriage tribunal.

Sources:

Abp. John Wester Reinstated Homosexual Priest After Years – Lepanto Institute

Bishop of Santa Fe reinstated to the presbytery a man who left the priesthood and was married to another man – ZENIT

The perils of working for the Church – Catholic Culture