'I am gay,' American priest tells parishioners

BY STAFF REPORTER
AN A \11.1th N CaU101iC priest has surprised his parish by declaring himself to be a homosexual.
Fr Jim Morrison of Thibodaux. Louisiana, told his family, his bishop and some 500 churchgoers that he was gay.
But he is not facing any disciplinary action because he is celibate.
Fr Morrison decided to come out of the closet in a letter to 300 members of the congregation at St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church and 200 students of Nicholls State University who use the church. He also sent a copy to Bishop Sam Jacobs of Houma-Thibodaux.
He said he was spurred into action by the publication of the Vatican document that barred men with "deep-seated" homosexual tendencies from the priesthood.
Associated Press reported that Fr Morrison addressed the congregation on the subject of his sexuality at a Mass on Saturday evening.
"1 ask you constantly to trust me," he told parishioners. "I ask you come to me with your life, all the blessings, all the struggles. But it's not a oneway street."
Fr Morrison said he also informed his parents, four sisters and two brothers of his decision before he made his announcement.
"I have come to realise that while I was encouraging others to be honest, I was not putting these words into practice in my own life," Fr Morrison wrote in his letter.
He said he was not looking for attention or approval but trying to be more true to himself, God and those he served.
"I thought it took a lot of courage," said Winnie Faucheux of Thibodaux. "1 love him. I think he's a wonderful person. I think the community's going to grow from him being honest.
Fr Morrison, who has been a priest for more than 18 years, said he has kept his promises of celibacy and is not in any romantic or sexual relationship.
After Hurricane Katrina, Fr Morrison welcomed storm evacuees with pets to the St Thomas Aquinas Centre when some other shelters would not allow animals in.
Bishop Jacobs defended Fr Morrison as a good priest. "As Jesus says, one judges a tree by the fruit it bears. A good tree does not bear bad fruit and a bad tree does not bear good fruit," he said.
"In my short tenure as Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux, I have known Fr Jim Morrison to be a compassionate and energetic priest who has provided good pastoral ministry to the people he has served. Unless I discover otherwise, as with all of our priests, I support him in the good that he does for our people."