Gay ex-governor mulls ministry

NEW YORK, May 3 (UPI) -- James McGreevey, who gave up the New Jersey governorship and sank his marriage when he came out as a gay, is now moving to become an Episcopal priest.

McGreevey will enter the General Theological Seminary in Manhattan this fall, The (Newark) Star-Ledger reported Wednesday. He declined to comment Tuesday, the newspaper said.

"We are pleased to confirm that (McGreevey) has been accepted to the seminary's three-year Master of Divinity program beginning ... this coming September," seminary spokesman Bruce Parker said in a statement.

Parker said McGreevey's "application was evaluated by a committee composed of faculty members and several students, along with the director of admissions."

McGreevey officially converted from Catholicism to the Episcopal Church Sunday at a Manhattan church, the newspaper said, and has started what is called the "discernment" phase that normally precedes the seminary phase.

When he resigned in 2004, McGreevey, 49, said he was gay and had an affair with a male staffer. That man later denied it.

The Episcopal Church allows openly gay people into its ministry.

McGreevey and his estranged wife Dina are going through a bitter divorce and custody battle over their daughter. She has written a book about their lives together.