(OSV News) — Former America magazine editor-in-chief Father Matt Malone plans to leave the Jesuit order and petition to be dispensed from the obligations of the clerical state with hopes of instead having a family, he announced on the social media platform X on December 19.

“Dear Friends: Last spring, I concluded a monthlong retreat with the full Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. In light of the graces of that prayerful time, I have made an important decision,” he wrote. “I’ve written to my superior to inform him that I will not seek full incorporation into the Jesuits, and to request that I be dispensed from the obligations of the clerical state. I’ve made this decision because I wish to be free to have a family should I have the opportunity.”

A Massachusetts native and respected journalist, Father Malone entered Jesuit formation in 2002 and was ordained in 2012. Unlike many other male Catholic religious communities that include priests where members make their full commitment known as “final vows” prior to ordination, Jesuit formation continues after ordination with a stage called “tertianship.” Final vows may occur “any number of years later,” when the Jesuit superior in Rome calls a man who is ready into “full incorporation,” according to the Jesuits USA East website.

Father Malone’s request to be “dispensed from the obligations of the clerical state,” commonly if imperfectly called “laicization,” is determined through a canonical process and is granted by the Holy See. If he is dispensed, he may no longer exercise rights of a priest, such as celebrating Mass, hearing confessions or administering other sacraments, living instead as a layperson. Typically, a laicized priest would need an additional dispensation in order to be free to marry.

“While I am at peace with my choice, I am aware that this news may be a source of disappointment for some of the men and women to whom I have ministered over the last two decades. For that, I can only ask for their forgiveness,” Father Malone wrote on X.

“I wish to stress that my decision is not in any way a form of protest,” he continued. “I love deeply both the Church and the Society of Jesus, which have given me everything that I have in life, including the spirituality by which I have discerned this path.”

The spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola that Father Malone said guided his discernment are traditionally experienced in a 30-day retreat, although they have also been abbreviated to shorter timeframes. St. Ignatius, a Spanish priest, founded the Jesuits in Paris in 1534.

When Father Malone, at age 40, was appointed president and the 14th editor-in-chief of America Media in 2012, he was the youngest editor-in-chief in the Jesuit magazine’s century-long history. Under his leadership, the weekly magazine expanded to a multi-platform media company. He led the media company until 2022. He was succeeded as editor-in-chief by Jesuit Father Sam Sawyer and as president by Traug Keller.

Prior to leading the magazine, Father Malone worked as an associate editor for America from 2007 to 2009, covering foreign policy and domestic politics.

Before joining the Jesuits, he was a speechwriter for U.S. Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-MA) from 1995 to 1997. From 1997 to 2002, he was the founding deputy director of the think tank MassINC and co-publisher of its publication, CommonWealth.

“I will live and die as a Roman Catholic,” Father Malone wrote on X. “And I will continue to love and to serve the church — in ways that are appropriate for my state of life — for all of the days God grants me.”