Fired ABC anchor Ken Rosato was a priest decades before hot-mic incident
Former ABC7 anchor Ken Rosato — who was recently fired following a hot-mic insult — once lived to serve God.
The disgraced journalist oversaw a church in Hollywood, Fla., called the Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Community, where he worked as a priest, according to the chapel’s website.
The church was not directly associated with Roman Catholicism but said it respected the religious institution and followed similar ideologies.
The Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Community was started in October 2000 by a small group of South Florida Catholics — including Rosato — who wanted to “worship in an accepting environment that offered Catholic tradition with valid sacraments.”
“Worshippers can feel free to attend our masses knowing that they will not be judged for their human frailties,” the church’s mission statement read.
They also stated they allowed divorce and contraception — which Roman Catholic churches advocate against.
Rosato later moved to New York City, where he was hired at “Eyewitness News” as a freelance reporter in 2003 and promoted to morning and noon anchor in 2007.
However, it appeared he continued to simultaneously work as a news anchor and pastor.
For more Page Six you love…
In October 2007, Rosato presided over a wedding ceremony for fellow news reporter Tamsen Fadal and Matt Titus, a “personal trainer with a bad-boy reputation” who was recently divorced, per the New York Times.
“Ken Rosato, a priest of the Catholic Apostolic Church in North America and an anchor on WABC-TV, led the couple in their vows,” the article states, noting Rosato’s dual professions.
It is unclear when the New York native stopped practicing as a priest — if at all — but his journalism career took off, and he worked at ABC7 until recently.
Page Six broke the news on May 12 that Rosato, 56, had been let go after two decades at the network for allegedly making an off-color remark to a colleague off-camera.
His rep denied the remark was related to race, telling us, “Being fired for any racial slur is 100 percent inaccurate and untrue. Ken Rosato had a benchmark of 20 years at WABC of supporting all equality.”
We later revealed that Rosato had called his co-anchor, Shirleen Allicot, a “c–t” on an open mic — and was fired immediately as a result.
The news station has yet to formally announce his exit but said in an email to staffers that Rosato is “no longer with WABC.”
