Deciding he had to practice the honesty he preached, a popular priest has told his family, his bishop and the people in his parish that he is gay.
The Rev. Jim Morrison said he had been working since October on the letter which he sent early this month to 300 members of the congregation at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church and 200 members of the student ministry.
He mailed the letter and handed his bishop a copy on Jan. 2, about a month after the Vatican released a policy statement saying people with "deep-seated" homosexual tendencies should be kept out of the priesthood. . . .
In the letter he said that for years, he had counseled people struggling with their sexual orientation to be honest about it with people they love.
"I have come to realize that while I was encouraging others to be honest, I was not putting these words into practice in my own life," Morrison wrote.
He said he wasn't looking for attention or approval but trying to be more true to himself, God and those he serves.
Morrison said he has kept his vows of celibacy and is not in any romantic or sexual relationship. Being celibate and gay is not against Catholic doctrine, so he does not plan to resign, he said.
Nor is he being asked to, said Louis Aguirre, spokesman for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. . . .
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I'll have to scratch my head on this for awhile. I don't understand: What was the purpose of the letter? It seems to be, "I'm gay and that changes absolutely nothing because I'm loyal to my oath of celibacy." Okay, but, if it doesn't change anything, why send the letter? Because he tells others to be open about their sexuality? Alright, but maybe the others have a different situation, or maybe the openness advice isn't good counsel.
I could understand him talking with his bishop (and I think he should've spoken with his bishop before sending the letter), but why the preemptory confession to the congregation?
