Ex-Legionary, Fox News personality asks to leave the priesthood

Michie · May 17, 2019

*You are in the Catholic forum*

Father Jonathan Morris, a former member of the Legion of Christ who was at one time among the most prominent Catholic priests in America as a contributor to Fox News, has asked to be dismissed from the clerical state, indicating he wants to free to "marry and have a family" though saying it's not about an "existing relationship."

His statement.
https://cruxnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Morris-statement.pdf

Continued below.
Ex-Legionary, Fox News personality asks to leave the priesthood

tz620q · May 17, 2019

Michie said:
*You are in the Catholic forum*

Father Jonathan Morris, a former member of the Legion of Christ who was at one time among the most prominent Catholic priests in America as a contributor to Fox News, has asked to be dismissed from the clerical state, indicating he wants to free to "marry and have a family" though saying it's not about an "existing relationship."

His statement.
https://cruxnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Morris-statement.pdf

Continued below.
Ex-Legionary, Fox News personality asks to leave the priesthood

I think we have all known priests that asked to be laicized to follow the vocation of married life. I commend them for this difficult decision and the upfront honesty of taking their vows of celibacy serious enough not to sneak around; but to recognize that they need to ask for this vow to be dismissed. I pray for Father Morris to follow God's will no matter where it will lead him.

eastcoast_bsc · May 17, 2019

He seemed to be a nice guy but With all his media exposure I got the vibe he was getting into it, becoming to worldly as they say.

Arcangl86 · May 18, 2019

Wouldn't he need a separate dispensation to marry even if he is dismissed from the clerical state?

Wolseley · May 18, 2019

No different from somebody making a wedding vow "until death do us part" and then asking for a divorce so they can marry somebody else, in my humble opinion.

I realize people go through a lot of changes, but if you can't uphold a lifelong vow, whether it be marriage or the priesthood, then don't take the vow to begin with.

Michie · May 18, 2019

Wolseley said:
No different from somebody making a wedding vow "until death do us part" and then asking for a divorce so they can marry somebody else, in my humble opinion.

I realize people go through a lot of changes, but if you can't uphold a lifelong vow, whether it be marriage or the priesthood, then don't take the vow to begin with.

Wols! How are you?

Wolseley · May 18, 2019

LOL. Kinda beat-up, Michie, but I keep plugging.

This last winter was pretty brutal....we had upwards of six feet of snow here, viciously cold, and it took forever to get through. Then it all melted, of course, and we got horrendous rainstorms that turned the roads into bottomless pits of slime. We've had trees come down, and we have more that we're going to have to take down, before they come down and do some damage to the house.

Things have stabilized, weather-wise. Everything is in bloom now and the roads are drivable again, which is nice. The PTSD is up and down; I'm still attending weekly sessions at the VA and I'm still having nasty nightmares and sometimes full-blown panic attacks in crowded stores...I'm coming up on an anniversary date of when my roommate was killed while I was overseas, so I'm dealing with that. But the shrinks have gotten me on an even keel with it, so I know what to expect.

I have other age-related issues; I've got full-blown Type-II diabetes now, and my back is shot, so I have to be careful with what I do. I can work just as hard right now as I did 40 years ago---but nowhere near as long as I used to, and I don't get near as much done, LOL. I spend a lot of time with my painting hobby and reading....gotta do something, being both retired and disabled, LOL. How have you been?

Michie · May 18, 2019

Lol! You know what's so strange? I thought about you 3 days straight last week! I was actually kind of worried and wondered what became and of you. I can totally relate to the crowded store situation. I get where I want to start swinging.

We are just a state away do I can relate to the winter situation. Not fun. A lot of work. Just planted a canoe full of marigolds. Doing the same with the boat tomorrow. Broke out with heat bumps today and just took a cool shower. Hoping that fixes the itchiness. As far as how I'm doing, struggling with energy, etc. I have a lot of respondibilty with my MIL and my mom. Keeps me hopping. I hope you are finding some happiness in your struggles. Please check in more often. I really miss you. God bless you and yours! :pray:

Markie Boy · May 18, 2019

Historically, the call to priesthood and call to married life were seen as separate callings, and a person often was called to both.

The Eastern Catholics still do things this way - we are all the same humans with the same wiring - so this isn't so odd. He just operating in a different set of rules.

Rhamiel · May 18, 2019

Markie Boy said:
Historically, the call to priesthood and call to married life were seen as separate callings, and a person often was called to both.

The Eastern Catholics still do things this way - we are all the same humans with the same wiring - so this isn't so odd. He just operating in a different set of rules.

Eastern Catholic priests are not allowed to get married, so it could be a similar issue even if he was an Eastern Catholic

Priests can not get married, the issue is ordaining of already married men

Markie Boy · May 19, 2019

Correct - sorry I was not clear - married men may become priests, but a single priest can not date and then get married.

Just stating this man did not have that option if he was not an Eastern Catholic, so it may have had something to do with where he ended up. Many have left seminary or priesthood since Vatican II to get married.

And in the news lately has been quite a bit about the hidden children of priests today, and how hard it was for them living this way.

I don't think we benefit from mandatory celibacy (if it's a calling yes, mandatory no). Celibacy and Priesthood are two separate callings that don't always over lap.

Rhamiel · May 19, 2019

Markie Boy said:
Many have left seminary or priesthood since Vatican II to get married.

True, that has been the case since the 1960’s
But celibacy as a formal rule goes back over 1,000 years and celibacy and continence as a norm goes back atleast till 590 as a norm all through the West

Markie Boy · May 19, 2019

Not actually - this shows a much later dates and concepts:

Pope John XVII was Pope for about seven months from 16 May to 6 November 1003.
Before entering the priesthood, Sicco had been married and had three sons who also entered Holy Orders:

John, Bishop of Praeneste
Peter, a Deacon
Andrew, a Secundicerius

He died on 6 November 1003 and was buried in the Lateran Basilica between the two doors of the principal facade. According to John the Deacon, his epitaph began by stating that “here is the tomb of the supreme John, who is said to be Pope, for so he was called.”

Coupled with the fact the New Testament directly contradicts Mandatory celibacy - it's something that needs to be fixed before the Church will heal.

Another thing I think is we need to have the right target. We should want to be like the Apostles, not the Church of the middle ages.

eastcoast_bsc · May 19, 2019

Morris has taken heat in the past for taking a soft stance towards homosexuality. When Republican presidential candidate John Kasich said during a televised debate in 2015 that he would attend a same-sex marriage, Morris' response was praise.

"I thought it was brave of him. He knows not everyone is going to like his response," Morris said on Fox and Friends. "It's a real issue what you have to say — what does my faith tell me to do in some situation. Other people wouldn't have gone to the wedding. He looked at it very seriously and decided this is what his faith told him to do. I congratulate him for it."

Morris also welcomed pro-gay Jesuit Fr. James Martin to his parish in Sept. 2017, when Cdl. Dolan presided over the dedication of a new altar at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in the Bronx.

Fr. Jonathan Morris Leaves the Priesthood

eastcoast_bsc · May 19, 2019

Morris raised eyebrows when he went on a six-month sabbatical in the middle of Lent, an unusual move during a time the Church deems the holiest period in the liturgical year. Morris claimed then he was taking a break from ministry to be with family and spend time "discerning," although he did not publicly go into specifics.

Michie · Jun 20, 2019

Why I Wish Jonathan Morris Had Remained a Priest

Michie · Jun 24, 2019

Some general thoughts regarding petitions for laicization, and a specific critique of Father Jonathan Morris' recent public statements.

https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2019/06/17/called-out-of-the-priesthood/

narnia59 · Jun 24, 2019

Markie Boy said:
Not actually - this shows a much later dates and concepts:

Pope John XVII was Pope for about seven months from 16 May to 6 November 1003.
Before entering the priesthood, Sicco had been married and had three sons who also entered Holy Orders:

John, Bishop of Praeneste

Peter, a Deacon

Andrew, a Secundicerius

He died on 6 November 1003 and was buried in the Lateran Basilica between the two doors of the principal facade. According to John the Deacon, his epitaph began by stating that “here is the tomb of the supreme John, who is said to be Pope, for so he was called.”

Coupled with the fact the New Testament directly contradicts Mandatory celibacy - it's something that needs to be fixed before the Church will heal.ec

Another thing I think is we need to have the right target. We should want to be like the Apostles, not the Church of the middle ages.

If our target is to be like the apostles, then it's not just priests who could marry, it would include bishops and even the Pope. We would also allow men who are already priests and bishops to marry, as St. Paul clearly thought he had the right to do so as an apostle even though he was not married (1 Corinthians 9:5).

But St. Paul also counseled against this practice, and quite likely because he observed that his fellow apostles who were married were experiencing the reality of what he writes in 1 Corinthians 7:32-34 "The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided."

Was St. Paul right? Was his counsel based upon observation? We can certainly find support for that even today. In 2011 the Christian Post reported based on their research of Protestant ministers, that 8 in 10 pastors' wives said they feel unappreciated or unaccepted by their husbands' congregations, 80% of pastors’ wives responded that they wish their husbands would choose another profession, "'Wives' issues" was the No. 1 reason pastors leave their ministries, and their divorce rate was around 50%, similar to other couples.

So while we could do it the way of the apostles where men at any rank in the Church hierarchy could marry at any time to include after ordination, we could also choose to learn from history how grossly unfair that is to both the vocations of priesthood and marriage and that St. Paul's counsel is wisdom for the ages. How can the Church 'heal' by creating a clergy who have divided interests and are anxious about worldly affairs? A clergy who have to deal with half of their marriages ending in divorce? A clergy who have to live with the fact that their spouses wish they weren't a priest at all, but it's not just a job you can change because you've made a vow to God? A clergy who have to choose between their spouse needs them at home or someone in the congregation needs last rites? None of that sounds to me like a path of healing for the Church but just the opposite.

Markie Boy · Jun 24, 2019

Could be - I could be totally wrong.

narnia59 · Jun 25, 2019

Markie Boy said:
Could be - I could be totally wrong.

I often see solutions than propose that allowing priests to marry will fix xyz problem and I just don't think the facts support that. I apologize if I seemed to beat you over the head though. That was not my intention.

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