Shares Distinction With Pope Francis and Seven Other Prominent Catholics

Contact: Jennifer Thieme, Ruth Institute, 760-295-9278, jthieme@ruthinstitute.org

SAN MARCOS, Calif., Jan. 16, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ -- Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, founder and president of the Ruth Institute, has been selected by Our Sunday Visitor as one of their "2013 Catholics of the Year." She shares this distinction with Pope Francis, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Cardinal Timothy Dolan and is one of only four lay Catholics so honored.

Our Sunday Visitor said that she was selected due to her "outstanding leadership in the Church." Candidates were nominated by both readers and staff, and were selected by an Our Sunday Visitor committee. "I am humbled and surprised to receive the announcement," Dr. Morse said. "I did not even know I was nominated." Our Sunday Visitor, founded over 100 years ago, is one of the largest English language Catholic Publications in the world.

Dr. Morse founded the Ruth Institute in 2008 to educate religiously serious college students as to the social benefits of marriage. Dr. Morse said, "I am honored by this award. I hope it will call attention to the Church's beautiful teaching on marriage, family, and human sexuality. We Catholics have no right to keep it to ourselves. The Church has been proven prophetic again and again."

The Ruth Institute, an interfaith organization, has recently broadened its mission, reaching out to what it is calling "the victims of the sexual revolution."

"We have come to realize that the sexual revolution has created new categories of psychological harm and pain," Dr. Morse said. "There are some definite categories emerging, such as 'adult child of divorce,' 'heartbroken career woman,' 'reluctantly divorced person,' and 'donor conceived person.' Our mission is to help them connect the dots between the upheaval caused by the sexual revolution and the pain they are experiencing today."

Dr. Morse is the author of several books including Love and Economics: It Takes a Family to Raise a Village, Smart Sex: Finding Lifelong Love in a Hook-Up World, and newly released 101 Tips for a Happier Marriage: Simple Ways for Couples to Grow Closer to God and to Each Other, with co-author Betsy Kerekes. These books are available at the Ruth Institute website, as well as on Amazon.com.

The Ruth Institute, located near San Diego, CA, is a ministry for promoting marriage and helping those negatively affected by the Sexual Revolution. Their upcoming conference, Healing the 21st Century Family, will be held in San Diego on February 15, and is open to all. For more information on this event, visit www.ruthinstitute.org/HealingConf.

Dr. Morse is available for interviews. Call Jennifer Thieme at the Ruth Institute office at (760) 295-9278 or email jthieme@ruthinstitute.org to schedule an interview.