Last Updated: Friday - 09/24/2010

Fr. Morley had heart for justice, the unborn

GLACE BAY, N.S. - Described as a man of great faith who loved the priesthood, Father Thomas Morley of Nova Scotia served several parishes in the Edmonton Archdiocese in the 1980s and 1990s.

According to Archbishop Emeritus Joseph MacNeil, who invited the priest to work in the archdiocese, Morley loved people and served them well.

"He went to different parishes and didn't look for parishes in the city; he wanted parishes out in the rural areas where he could get to know all the people," recalls MacNeil.

"He loved the priesthood and loved the people and loved to serve them and he served them with distinction."

A priest from the Antigonish Diocese, Morley died of cancer May 14 at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital. He was 82.

Born in Glace Bay, Jan. 16, 1928, Morley was ordained by Antigonish Bishop William Power on June 8, 1963.

THREE PRIESTS

He was the youngest of three priests in his family. One of his brothers, Father Fred Morley, served in Jasper during MacNeil's tenure.

Father Tom Morley served in several parishes in the Antigonish Diocese before coming west in 1984. In the Edmonton Archdiocese, he served the next 12 years in Stony Plain, Edmonton, Rimbey, Olds, Hinton and Ponoka.

He moved back to Nova Scotia in 1996 and continued his priestly ministry in the Diocese of Yarmouth before returning to Antigonish.

"He was a very loyal, very conscientious priest so we were very, very happy to have him and we were sorry that he was not able to remain here for the rest of his life," MacNeil said.

LOVE FOR LIFE

"He was a very kind man, very generous man, very friendly. He loved life. And speaking of life, he was a very strong defender of the right to life for every human being, especially for the unborn. He was a very, very strong pro-life priest."

Morley also had a strong social sense and went out of his way to help the poor and the needy. He had a special affinity for immigrants and helped them to feel at home in their new country.

Morley's funeral Mass was celebrated May 17 at St. Anne's Church in Glace Bay with Bishop Brian Dunn presiding and his brothers, Fathers Fred and Frank Morley, concelebrating.

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