Jonathan Morris (born August 22, 1972) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
author, actor, commentator on religious matters in the media who has been a
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
contributor and analyst since 2005. He formerly served as a
Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
, first in the
Legionaries of Christ
The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ ( la, Congregatio Legionariorum Christi; abbreviated LC; also Legion of Christ) is a Roman Catholic clerical religious order made up of priests and candidates for the priesthood established by Marcia ...
and later as a
secular priest
In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogr ...
in the
Archdiocese of New York
The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...
. In 2019, he requested
dispensation from the clerical state.
Biography
Born in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, the third of seven children, Morris studied
business administration
Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...
at
Franciscan University of Steubenville
Franciscan University of Steubenville is a private Franciscan university in Steubenville, Ohio. The university had 3,040 students as of fall 2019, including 2,317 students on campus, in 40 undergraduate and 8 graduate degree programs. The studen ...
in Ohio, where he served as vice president of the University Student Government.
At the age of 21, he entered the seminary and studied in Rome, Italy, gaining degrees in the classical humanities, philosophy, and theology. He was ordained a priest in the order of the
Legion of Christ
The Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ ( la, Congregatio Legionariorum Christi; abbreviated LC; also Legion of Christ) is a Roman Catholic clerical religious order made up of priests and candidates for the priesthood established by Marci ...
in 2002, and continued living and working in Rome. In 2004, he obtained a graduate Licentiate degree in moral theology from
Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum (Finding the Truth with Love)
, mottoeng =
, established = 15 September 1993( years ago)
, closed =
, type = Private, Catholic, Legionaries of Christ, Pontifical University
, endowment =
, rector = Rev. José E. Oyarzún, LC
, faculty =
...
, ''
magna cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...
''.
In 2009, Morris left the Legion of Christ and joined the Archdiocese of New York as a diocesan priest. He then served as
parochial vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...
of
Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in the
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
neighborhood of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. In 2013, he was transferred to
Corpus Christi Church in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
to serve as a chaplain at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
and to be the program director of The Catholic Channel on
SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius S ...
radio.
In February 2015, Morris became pastor of
The Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Churches dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel include the following:
Chile
* Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral, Puerto Montt
*Military Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Santiago
China
* Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Beijing
*Our Lad ...
, located on East 187th St. in
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
.
In May 2019, while on
sabbatical
A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work.
The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...
, Morris announced that he had decided to request
dispensation from the clerical state after having: His request was approved by Pope Francis.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan
Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current Archbishop of New York, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.
Dolan served as the president of the United S ...
had granted Morris' request to be removed from active ministry.
Post-priesthood
Shortly after leaving the priesthood, Morris co-founded Morris & Larson Advisors, an
executive coaching firm. Morris continues to work as a contributor for Fox News.
In July 2020, Morris announced he was engaged to 37-year-old Kaitlyn Folmer, a reporter with
ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
. The couple was married in October 2020, at
St Patrick's Cathedral in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Work
From 2002 to 2004, Morris worked as a theological adviser in the making of
Mel Gibson
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...
's motion picture ''
The Passion of the Christ
''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mary M ...
.''
[Behind the Scenes: At the Heart of 'The Passion'](_blank)
April 2, 2004 Retrieved March 2, 2007
During the final illness of
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
in March 2005, and his death the following 5 April, Morris provided reports and analysis for
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
, the
Fox News Channel
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, among others. Shortly thereafter, Morris received offers from several networks to contribute follow-up reports, and he began working for the Fox News Channel. In accepting the offer to work with the network, he proposed to cover not just Vatican news events, but to also analyze wider news stories from an ethical dimension.
Since April 2005, Morris' work has expanded to include reports beyond the scope of the Vatican. He has been interviewed on several Fox News Channel programs, including ''
''. He has also contributed to the ''
'' and Fox News.com's on-line news roundtable, ''The Strategy Room''.
Morris began a recurring segment for Fox News Channel's late night news/comedy show ''
'' in May 2009. For this segment, called ''Father Knows Best,'' Morris answered questions from viewers on religious and faith-related issues. He was also a regular news contributor for the show. That same year, he also became a contributor to ''
special ''The Real Face of Jesus?'', a documentary that followed a team of computer and
, extrapolating a new picture of the face of the man from the shroud.
In 2012 Morris became the program director of
'' and ''God Wants You Happy: From Self-Help to God's Help''. His newest book is ''The Way of Serenity: Finding Peace and Happiness in the Serenity Prayer''.
In 2019, Morris appeared as
.