Andrew Morrison, SJ (5 June 1919 – 26 January 2004) was a Guyanese Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, journalist, and pro-democracy activist.

Early life and education

Morrison was born on 5 June 1919 in Georgetown,

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

. He attended high school at St. Stanislaus College and attended a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

institution for college. He studied accounting, and following graduation, he returned to Georgetown to work at an accounting firm.

Career

Morrison joined the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in 1949 at the age of 30, and was sent to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

to study for the priesthood, as Guyana is a member of the Jesuits' British Province. He was ordained a priest on 31 July 1957, the feast day of

St. Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, ...

, the founder of the Society of Jesus. He was sent back to British Guiana (independent Guyana since 1966) and served as youth chaplain of the Green Light Organisation, a Catholic social ministry. During this time, he founded the Camp Kayuka on the

Soesdyke-Linden Highway The Soesdyke-Linden Highway is a 2-lane highway that runs between Soesdyke and Linden, Guyana, Linden in Guyana. The East Bank Public Road connects Soesdyke with Georgetown. Construction The Soesdyke-Linden highway was constructed between 196 ...

. In 1972, Morrison was appointed

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...

of the Diocese of Georgetown, a position he held for four years. In July 1976, Morrison was appointed Editor of the ''Catholic Standard'', the newspaper of the Diocese of Georgetown and the only religious newspaper in Guyana. In 1979 he founded the Guyana Human Rights Association. Morrison's first international public episode, was his coverage of the

Jim Jones James Warren Jones (May 13, 1931 – November 18, 1978) was an American preacher, political activist and mass murderer. He led the Peoples Temple, a new religious movement, between 1955 and 1978. In what he called "revolutionary suicide", ...

led

mass suicide Mass suicide is a form of suicide, occurring when a group of people simultaneously kill themselves. Overview Mass suicide sometimes occurs in religious settings. In war, defeated groups may resort to mass suicide rather than being captured. Su ...

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

, which took place in 1978 in Guyana. A year later, an

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

attempt upon his life failed because a fellow Jesuit was mistaken for Morrison; Fr Darke was brutally

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

ed. Such attempts to frustrate Morrison's quest for justice and rights had absolutely no effect upon him. He publicly exposed a plot by members of the governing regime to assassinate an opposition Guyanese

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

(Rodney) in the paper he headed, the ''Catholic Standard''. Amidst awards and honours from the international community he lamented the state of his countrymen and further hardships experienced by the certain fellow Jesuit elements, supporters of his cause. Fr Connors was deported from Guyana. Morrison died in his Georgetown home on 26 January 2004, at the age of 84. He was buried in the Sacred Heart Church in Georgetown.

Legacy

Fredrick Kissoon, Ricky Singh and

Hugh O'Shaughnessy Hugh O'Shaughnessy (21 January 1935 – 1 March 2022) was an English journalist and writer. Biography O'Shaughnessy was born in Reading, Berkshire of Irish parents. His father, Charles, was a porter at the Home Office, and his mother, Mary (nee ...

described him as a 'Symbol of courage' and one who went about living serenely amidst insecurity; an insecurity that had his co-workers quite nervous but was of no concern to him. He is regarded as an important figure contributing to media freedom in Guyana. He was awarded a Maria Moors Cabot Special Citation by Columbia University in New York in 1985 and the Titus Brandsma Award in the Netherlands in 1992.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Andrew Maria Moors Cabot Prize winners Guyanese Jesuits 1919 births 2004 deaths People from Georgetown, Guyana Guyanese democracy activists Guyanese journalists 20th-century Roman Catholic priests 20th-century journalists

Early life and education

Career

Legacy

Bibliography

See also

References