“Unfortunately, until Friday, June 14, the elders did not know all the facts regarding the inappropriate relationship between Morris and the victim, including her age at the time and the length of the abuse,” the board said, adding that the elders knew about the extramarital relationship but believed the woman to be a “younger woman.”
“We are grateful for the victims that this situation has been brought to light,” he added.
Morris’ name was removed from a webpage listing church leaders late Monday, and his son, James, is now listed as the church’s senior leader.
In a statement, Clemisher, 54, said he was grateful that Morris was no longer Gateway’s pastor but was disappointed he was not fired. He also disputed the board’s claim that they did not know Clemisher’s age at the time of the alleged abuse and said he had spoken at length to church officials and board members about the events in 2005 and 2007.
“Gateway had information but knowingly chose to accept the false story that Robert Morris wanted us to believe,” Klemischer said.
The Presbyterian Church did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday night, nor did Haynes & Boone, the law firm the Presbyterian Church hired to investigate the abuse allegations.
Morris did not respond to requests for comment, but told The Christian Post that when he was in his early 20s, he “engaged in inappropriate sexual activity with a young woman in a house where I was staying.” He said there was “kissing and petting, but no intercourse, and it was wrong.” Morris confessed and repented in 1987, and “submitted to the elders of Shady Grove Church and the young woman’s father,” who encouraged him to take a leave of absence from pastorate. He returned in 1989 with their blessing, Morris said.
Klemischer’s accusations first surfaced on religion blog Wartburg Watch on Friday. She later also spoke to The Dallas Morning News about the alleged abuse, saying Morris was a close family friend and traveling preacher who stayed at her home in 1982. She told the paper that he invited her into his room on Christmas night that year. After telling her to lie on her back, Morris allegedly touched her inappropriately and warned her not to report the incident. She said the abuse continued for four and a half years.
Morris founded Gateway Church in the Dallas area in 2000 and has grown from 30 members to a missionary congregation with about a dozen churches and more than 100,000 people attending each weekend, according to the church’s website.
Morris was part of a group of evangelical pastors and leaders on the Trump administration’s informal faith advisory group, whose members fluctuated, receiving briefings at the White House and posing for photographs with Trump. Their actual influence on policy was unclear, but their public image was powerful for conservative Christians who have felt ignored by previous presidents. Trump, speaking at a roundtable of White House officials at the Gateway in 2020, called Morris and another church leader “great people with great reputations.”
Michelle Borstein contributed to this report.
