Andrew Morrison

Andrew Morrison, SJ (1919 – 2004) was a Guyanese Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, journalist, and pro-democracy activist.

Early life and education

Andrew Morrison was born on 5 June 1919 in Georgetown, British Guiana. He attended high school at St. Stanislaus College and attended a Jesuit institution for college. He studied accounting, and following graduation, he returned to Georgetown to work at an accounting firm.

Career

Morrison joined the Society of Jesus in 1949 at the age of 30, and was sent to Great Britain to study for the priesthood, as Guyana is a member of the Jesuits' British Province. He was ordained a priest on 31 July 1957, the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus.

He was sent back to British Guiana (independent Guyana since 1966) and served as youth chaplain of the Green Light Organisation, a Catholic social ministry. During this time, he founded the well-known Camp Kayuka on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. In 1972, Morrison was appointed Vicar General of the Diocese of Georgetown, a position he held for four years.

In July 1976, Morrison was appointed Editor of the Catholic Standard, the newspaper of the Diocese of Georgetown and the only religious newspaper in Guyana.

Fr Morrison's first major public episode, in view of the international community at large, was his coverage of the Jim Jones led mass suicide-massacre, which took place in 1978 in Guyana. A year later, an assassination attempt upon his life failed because a fellow Jesuit was mistaken for Fr Morrison; Fr Darke was brutally murdered. Such attempts to frustrate Fr Morrison's quest for justice and rights had absolutely no effect upon him. He publicly exposed a plot by members of the governing regime to assassinate an opposition Guyanese politician (Rodney) in the paper he headed, the Catholic Standard. Amidst awards and honours from the international community he lamented the state of his countrymen and further hardships experienced by the certain fellow Jesuit elements, supporters of his cause. Fr Connors was deported from Guyana.

At the turn of the 21st century, two noted American 'hitmen' appeared in the country apparently targeting Morrison, but to no avail. Nevertheless, Fr Morrison would live to see the downfall of oppression in Guyana and a complete return to democracy; largely due to his supremely brave, nevertheless non-political, efforts. This man whom a former national leader had described as a "cassocked obscenity" died peacefully in his home country of Guyana on 27 January 2004, and was buried in the Sacred Heart Church in Georgetown amidst many tears and emotional tributes. He certainly lives on in the hearts of many as the man described by Fredrick Kissoon, Ricky Singh and Hugh O'Shaughnessy as a 'Symbol of courage' and one who went about living serenely amidst insecurity; an insecurity that had his co workers quite nervous but was of no concern to him.

Morrison died in his Georgetown home on 26 January 2004, at the age of 84.