Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey was denied his first try to become a priest.
A report in the New York Post cites unnamed church leaders with the Episcopal Diocese of Newark.
McGreevey shocked the state and the nation when he declared he was gay, acknowledged an extramarital affair with a man and resigned from office in 2004.
A public, bitter divorce and custody battle followed between McGreevey and his ex-wife Dina Matos McGreevey.
McGreevey, 53, earned a master’s of divinity from the General Theological Seminary in Manhattan last spring. He was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools.
According to the NY Post report, some church leaders were wary that McGreevey may have turned to the Episcopal Church to help recreate his public image. Church leaders are known to have embraced gay parishioners and clergy.
"It was not 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 NY Post.
Politics
A source also told the Post that after the rejection McGreevey told friends he was counseled that he "needs more seasoning.”
McGreevey lives in Plainfield, NJ with Australian real estate executive Mark O’Donnell.
