Well, unless this was something weird he did just as a civil thing ... for some unknown legal reason.
We need to reserve judgment unless we have all the facts.
Isn't that what some liberals on Fisheaters said a few years ago? It became public that the divorced owner and a divorced member of her forum got civilly married. Some said "oh, but we shouldn't assume they're sleeping together or living like married people." What about the scandal of two divorced people being
civilly married to someone who is not their true spouse? That's scandalous enough.
A priest shouldn't be married to anyone. Civilly, inside or outside the True Church. Any level of marriage for a priest is an absolute scandal. That's what Martin Luther did, married a nun, remember? And this was in Florida. There is no obscure law or pragmatic reason why a priest would need to get married, on the books, technically, or otherwise.
Please suggest a law or circuмstance that would morally allow a priest in America to get married, even a sham or civil marriage, so I can verify if it might be true.