Morris was born in Brisbane, where he was educated at St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace, before studying for the priesthood at Pius XII Provincial Seminary in Banyo.
[citation needed] In 2006 Morris released a pastoral letter that discussed the declining number of priests in remote dioceses like Toowoomba.
[4] To call for such a discussion could be interpreted as a challenge to the teaching of Pope John Paul II's apostolic letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, which said that "the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women.
Attempts by Vatican administrators to reconcile Morris with the church's position included several meetings in Rome where, it has been reported, he was asked to resign several times.
[9] On 13 May 2011, the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference (ACBC) issued a statement, stating that they supported Pope Benedict's decision to remove Morris.
[10]At a meeting of the Permanent Committee of the ACBC on 2 August 2011, a petition was presented from many Catholics of the Diocese of Toowoomba in support of Morris.
"[12]Morris responded to the letter on 24 October 2011, writing: "The statement of the Australian Catholic Bishops contains inaccuracies and errors of fact evidenced by the documentation relating to the issues concerning myself and a number of Vatican dicasteries.
"[13]In October 2011, it was reported that several lay Catholics in Toowoomba had expressed concern that Morris still had a high profile in the diocese, giving a public lecture, in-service talks to teachers and officiating at parish anniversaries.
[14] Cardinal George Pell said to Catholic News Agency, "if he is a loyal man of the Church he'll realize that this is totally inappropriate and that won't continue.