A Voice of Truth in the Darkeness

by Caroline Cho

Centuries ago, the Gospel spread across the world through the works of brave missionary priests who traveled thousands of miles by land and sea to convert the souls of the unbelievers and the uninformed. In modern times, Christ’s message of hope and love can reach millions of people globally through the power of the media and the Internet.

Unfortunately, with the rising trends of secularism and relativism, the mainstream media often veer away from the Christian viewpoint. But as Fr. Jonathan Morris of FOX News knows, those who would desire to use the media to reach the masses have at their disposal the voice of truth, which can steer a path of light through this darkened chaos.

Enlightening the Masses

“My work with FOX is not to cover specifically religious or Catholic issues, but rather to help people understand the news by showing another side of the same story,” said Fr. Jonathan Morris. “News that is presented in a one-dimensional way is not news. It is a lie because nothing that is human is one-dimensional.”

Fr. Jonathan is a regular news contributor on FOX News, providing commentary on daily news stories from a moral, ethical, and social perspective—a perspective, as Fr. Jonathan pointed out, that is often ignored by mainstream media. With passionate candor and a boyish smile that have made him a favorite among FOX News viewers, this 34-year-old Ohio native is not one to shy away from speaking his mind. Viewers have voiced to FOX through emails and letters that they want to see more of this charismatic young priest.

As a regular news contributor, Fr. Jonathan usually appears on air once a week to commentate and to cover topics that often go beyond the Vatican walls. He has addressed diverse topics such as the war on Christmas, the Marriage Act, and the highly charged “right to life” battle in U.S. courts. In addition, he has covered events such as the Muslim youth riots in France and the terrorist bombings in England, as well as exclusively covering the 150th anniversary of La Divinia Pastora procession in Venezuela, which gathered more than 2 million people. In summer 2006, Fr. Jonathan covered the controversial legalized prostitution industry in Germany during the World Cup soccer tournament and conducted a sit-down interview with the general manager of the largest brothel in Berlin.

Challenging the Culture

According to Fr. Jonathan, freedom does not entail the right to do whatever one feels like doing, but rather, doing what is morally right, even if it may not be popular in modern society. This theme is prevalent in Fr. Jonathan’s blog on the FOX News website (www.foxnews.com/fatherjonathan), where he writes opinions on current issues and where readers are encouraged to email Fr. Jonathan with their questions and comments. Once a week, readers’ questions and Fr. Jonathan’s responses are posted on the blog.

According to Fr. Jonathan, the blog has more than tripled its daily readership since its inception in early January 2006. His “no-holds-barred” approach of tackling controversial and thought-provoking issues on the blog has attracted a wide readership that includes professionals, military men and women, stay-at-home mothers, and university students.

A sampling of the diverse topics that Fr. Jonathan addresses on his blog include:

• “Culture: The Battleground for the American Soul”—“If there is one thing to remember, it is this: culture, not politics alone, determines our national identity, and building culture is the responsibility of us all. We can do it in our homes, schools, and places of work, even as politicians fumble around on Capitol Hill.”
• “Intelligent Design, Not Modern Science”—“I’m saying that mainstream, atheistic Neo-Darwinism is bad science because it isn’t science. No reasonable person denies that life forms can evolve, but it’s quite different to say that through purely random natural selection one species evolves into another to the point of reaching human intelligence.
• ”Love Ain’t ‘Sex and the City’: Three Tips for Finding the Real Thing on Valentine’s Day”—“Tip 1: Look for Qualities that Last . . . Tip 2: Look for Shared Values of Similar Rank . . . Tip 3: Live the All Important Proportion—Intimacy and Commitment”
• “Dick Cheney’s Gay Daughter is Pregnant”—“Many single mothers make great moms, but the ones I know are the first to say that nature (God) got it right with the complementary nature of the sexes, for both human reproduction and parenthood. Trading a father or a mother for a third party lover may seem to make sense for the couple, but it will never make sense for the child.”
• “What Religious Liberty Really Means”—“If we allow radicals to rid the public square of religious expression, we will not be a more tolerant, pluralistic, or diverse country. We will, in fact, be much like the regimes of past and present, who in the name of progress have emptied culture of its richest forms only to fill it with ideologies of one kind or another. If these are difficult times, it is not because there is too much religion. It is because there is not enough of it—the real kind—the kind that makes us free.”

Contrary to the typical messages endorsed by today’s mainstream media that glorify materialism, promiscuity, and emotional and spiritual bankruptcy—messages which often target vulnerable youth—Fr. Jonathan, through his blog and in his television appearances, unabashedly promotes the values of chastity, true love, spiritual revitalization, and the importance of protecting life in our culture of indifference. By his presence in secular media, Fr. Jonathan offers the voice of conscience, the voice of Christ’s teachings, to a world that often celebrates immorality.

A writing enthusiast, Fr. Jonathan also revealed that he is currently writing a book on suffering. “I do enjoy writing, and it has been great to get feedback from the viewers,” he said about writing on the FOX News blog. “It helps me to connect better with people on television because I know the type of responses I’m getting through the website. So, it has been a really great opportunity.”

Answering God’s Call

The third oldest from a Catholic family of seven children, Fr. Jonathan was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Fr. Jonathan praises his parents for instilling in him the values of commitment to God and service to others.

While studying business at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, Fr. Jonathan first became interested in the priesthood through his college roommate, who was discerning a vocation to the priesthood. To offer support to his roommate, Fr. Jonathan encouraged him to find out if that was what God wanted him to do and went with him to an informational meeting with a priest from Connecticut. It was this meeting with the priest that changed Fr. Jonathan’s life.

“I was just very impressed with this priest,” Fr. Jonathan said. “I could tell that he wasn’t trying to recruit me like a company recruits a possible employee, but rather, he was a man of God, first of all, and secondly, a man of God who had a very clear understanding of his mission to give his life up for others and to seek the good of other people. I could tell it was a selfless decision on his part, and that his life was a life of great fulfillment.”

After visiting the seminary in Connecticut several times, Fr. Jonathan realized that he had to answer God’s call to a priestly vocation, and he entered the seminary in 1993 when he was 21 years old. Fr. Jonathan was ordained in 2002 and is currently serving as vice rector of the Legionaries of Christ Seminary in Rome when he is not on air. The Legionaries of Christ is one of the fastest growing religious orders in the Roman Catholic Church, and as vice rector, Fr. Jonathan works with seminarians on their spiritual journey toward the priesthood.

Bringing Good News to the Airwaves

In 2003, as a result of sharing a common friend with Jim Caviezel, who portrayed Jesus Christ in Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” Fr. Jonathan had the opportunity to visit the set of this monumental film. Fr. Jonathan became good friends with Caviezel, Gibson, and producer Steve McEveety. Gibson and McEveety asked Fr. Jonathan to become a theological consultant on the film. Providing spiritual advice and direction during the difficult moments of filming and during several key scenes of the film, Fr. Jonathan said that his experience on the set was unforgettable. When filming was complete, Fr. Jonathan helped promote the film in Europe.

Fr. Jonathan’s involvement with television began when he worked as a commentator for CNN, Larry King Live, and FOX News through the sickness and the funeral of Pope John Paul II. Soon afterward, during the election of Pope Benedict XVI, several networks wanted Fr. Jonathan to continue working for them as a commentator, but he established a lasting relationship with FOX News. Not only has Fr. Jonathan frequently appeared during the morning and afternoon broadcasts on FOX, but he has also been a frequent commentator on FOX’s popular evening and nightly programs such as “Your World with Neil Cavuto” and “The O’Reilly Factor.”

For Fr. Jonathan, his media work is an important part of his mission as a priest. “I find it just a great opportunity to fill out for people the ordinary issues of our day from a moral and ethical perspective. It is a perspective that is almost always missing in the mainstream media. I see it as a responsibility more than a privilege,” he explained.

It is not surprising that Fr. Jonathan’s favorite saint is St. Francis Xavier. “St. Xavier was an intrepid follower of Christ whose faith made him strong,” Fr. Jonathan said. “He never gave up, even in the face of overwhelming obstacles. He, like St. Paul, knew how to speak the Good News in love.” Through his work in the media, Fr. Jonathan also strives to bear the Good News to world in need.

Caroline Cho is a graduate of Boston College and Suffolk University Law School. She is currently getting her Doctorate in Education at Boston University.

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