One of Donald Trump's "spiritual advisers" admits to molesting a 12-year-old girl. But no matter — the senior pastor keeps preaching (and God knows what else) at one of the biggest churches in the United States.
In fact, Robert Morris, who founded the Texas-based Gateway Church, acknowledged that he had engaged in "inappropriate sexual behavior" with a "young lady," according to the Daily Beast. And the abuse wasn't a one-off — it lasted for five long years, between 1982–1987. "It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong," he once said.
But apparently, kissing and "petting" a child isn't too wrong in the eyes of cult leader Donald Trump or his MAGA Christians, who flock to the megachurch when they aren't enduring heat stroke at a Trump rally. Even the church turned a blind eye after the alleged molester asked them to. "I asked their forgiveness, and they graciously forgave me," he said.
From Daily Beast:
On Friday, Cindy Clemishire told The Wartburg Watch, a religious watchdog blog, that Robert Morris, the pastor of Texas' Gateway Church, asked her to come into his room when he stayed with her family for Christmas in 1982. She was 12 and he was 20 at the time. She said Morris molested her and then ordered her not to say anything about his behavior "because it will ruin everything." The abuse continued for years before Clemishire confided in a close friend, prompting Morris' wife to find out and Morris to step down from the ministry, according to the report.
He eventually returned to the church and founded Gateway Church in 2000, turning it into one of the country's largest megachurches with an estimated weekly attendance of 100,000, according to the church. He serves as its senior pastor, prompting Trump to name him to a spiritual advisory board in 2016.
After Clemishire came forward, Morris acknowledged the claims in a statement to The Christian Post, admitting he engaged in "inappropriate sexual behavior" with a "young lady," refusing to acknowledge Clemishire's age at the time. …
Elders at Gateway Church also told The Christian Post that Morris disclosed a "moral failure" and had since been absolved. He has not been criminally charged, but Texas' statute of limitations does not cover sexual offenses committed against a child.
Still, the church has worked to shield Morris from public view. He did not lead the church's Saturday services, according to the Dallas Morning News, and the church has declined to grant any further interviews or release more statements.
It's already clear that ex-president and adjudicated rapist Donald Trump — who MAGA now equates with Jesus — has no moral compass. So his choice of spiritual adviser in the form of an alleged child molester should come as no surprise.
