Paul F. Morrissey, OSA

Paul F. Morrissey, OSA, is an Augustinian friar and ordained priest. In 1973, Fr. Paul cofounded the Philadelphia chapter of Dignity, an LGBTQ ministry in the Catholic Church. In 1977, he cofounded Communication Ministry (CMI), an international monthly newsletter, journal, and retreat ministry for LGBTQ priests, brothers, and sisters. His ministry has been mainly to the marginalized in society and the Church–those who are dying, those who need counseling, those in prison, and LGBTQ people and their allies. He is the author of three books, Let Someone Hold You: The Journey of a Hospice Priest, an award winning memoir, The Black Wall of Silence, a novel about the sexual abuse crisis in the Church, and his latest (named above) in which he tells the story of how he learned to integrate the gay and priest parts of himself in a model that can apply to anyone, whatever their sexual orientation is. Fr. Paul is one of fourteen children who were taught to believe in finding their “true vocation,” because that is the one thing in life that will make you truly happy. He presently lives with his Augustinian Community and ministers at St. Augustine Parish in Old City, Philadelphia.