Fr Morris won’t be the last priest to be expelled from campus for having the ‘wrong’ beliefs

In her column in this week’s Spectator, Mary Wakefield writes about Father Mark Morris, who was fired from his post in Glasgow Caledonian University for having a prayer meeting in response to a recent gay pride march. Mary Wakefield points out that there is more to this story than meets the eye.

She’s not alone in wondering: How can a priest be dismissed for stating the Catholic Church’s position (and off-campus besides)? And why have we returned to the days where clergymen are expelled from campus, on ideological grounds? The case of Fr Morris is worth examining because he’s the first clergyman to be caught up in the new campus intolerance. During his four years as a Catholic chaplain, Fr Morris was known as a ‘gentle giant’ who said weekly Masses and helped the homeless. He spent most of his time as a parish priest in nearby Balornock. So far, so normal.