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Church MilitantDefunct
Est. 2006United Statesweb.archive.org(opens the outlet’s own site in a new tab)No analyses yet
About Church Militant
Church Militant was a Catholic news and commentary website and online video service operated by St. Michael's Media, a nonprofit based in Ferndale, Michigan. Founder Michael Voris started the organization in 2006, and it employed more than 40 full-time staff in 2023, according to the Associated Press.
The service began as RealCatholicTV. After the Archdiocese of Detroit said it did not regard the group as authorized under canon law to use the word "Catholic" in promoting its activities, it rebranded as ChurchMilitant.TV in June 2012 (Catholic News Agency).
Its coverage frequently attacked U.S. bishops, including over their advocacy for migrants, according to Detroit Metro Times. In June 2020 the Archdiocese of Detroit condemned language in a Church Militant video about Archbishop Wilton Gregory as racist and derogatory, and stated that Church Militant was not affiliated with, endorsed or recommended by the archdiocese and was not recognized as a Church apostolate (Catholic World Report). The Southern Poverty Law Center, an advocacy organization, criticized the outlet in 2018 and designated it an anti-LGBTQ hate group, according to Metro Times.
St. Michael's Media held a rally in Baltimore during the U.S. bishops' 2018 fall assembly. When the city tried to block a similar rally in 2021, a federal judge found the city had likely engaged in viewpoint discrimination (Catholic World Report), and the Fourth Circuit upheld that ruling in November 2021 (AP).
On November 21, 2023, the board said Voris had been asked to resign for breaching the organization's morality clause and that it had accepted his resignation; it did not disclose details (AP). In late February 2024 the organization settled a federal defamation suit brought by Fr. Georges de Laire, judicial vicar of the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire, over an unsigned January 2019 article. It retracted the article, apologized, paid $500,000 and represented that Church Militant would cease operations at the end of April 2024 (AP; OSV News). Metro Times later reported that the website had shut down. See Church Militant closure.
On the timeline
Full timelineDated events, newest first.
Church Militant settles priest's defamation suit for $500,000 and agrees to close
The plaintiff's law firm announced that St. Michael's Media had settled Fr. Georges de Laire's federal defamation suit over a 2019 article with a retraction, an apology and a $500,000 payment, and that Church Militant would cease…
3 sources
Catholic news site Church Militant agrees to pay $500K in defamation case and… (Associated Press (via Bangor Daily News))Right-wing Catholic outlet Church Militant to close in April (National Catholic Reporter)Church Militant to shut down as defamation saga ignited by a radical… (OSV News (via The Monitor, Diocese of Trenton))
Church Militant founder Michael Voris resigns at board's request
The St. Michael's Media board said founder Michael Voris had been asked to resign for breaching the Church Militant morality clause and that it had accepted his resignation, without disclosing details. Voris apologized in a video on X…
SourcesFounder of far-right Catholic site resigns over breach of its morality clause,… (Associated Press (via Bangor Daily News))Church Militant says founder Michael Voris asked to resign for breach of… (OSV News (via Detroit Catholic))
Appeals court upholds ruling that Baltimore cannot block Church Militant rally
A Fourth Circuit panel upheld an October 12, 2021, district-court ruling that Baltimore could not prevent St. Michael's Media from holding a rally near the U.S. bishops' November meeting. The district judge had found likely viewpoint…
SourcesAppeals court agrees city can't ban Catholic group's rally (Associated Press (via The Washington Times))Federal judge rules Baltimore cannot block Church Militant rally (Catholic World Report (CNA))
Archdiocese of Detroit condemns Church Militant video about Archbishop Wilton Gregory
In June 2020 the Archdiocese of Detroit condemned language in a Church Militant video about Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington as racist and derogatory, and said the outlet was not affiliated with, endorsed or recommended by the…
SourcesStatement regarding recent comments made about Archbishop of Washington, D.C.,… (Archdiocese of Detroit)Detroit archdiocese criticizes 'racist and derogatory language' from Church… (Catholic World Report)
RealCatholicTV renames itself ChurchMilitant.TV after Detroit archdiocese objection
After the Archdiocese of Detroit said it did not regard RealCatholicTV as authorized under canon law to use the word "Catholic" in promoting its activities, the Michigan-based service changed its name to ChurchMilitant.TV in June 2012.
SourceReal Catholic TV service removes 'Catholic' from new name (Catholic News Agency)
Michael Voris founds St. Michael's Media, later the home of Church Militant
Michael Voris founded St. Michael's Media in Ferndale, Michigan, in 2006. Its video service, first called RealCatholicTV and later Church Militant, grew to more than 40 full-time staff by 2023.
Sources for this profile
- Founder of far-right Catholic site resigns over breach of its morality clause, group says — Associated Press (via Bangor Daily News), Nov 21, 2023
- Catholic news site Church Militant agrees to pay $500K in defamation case and is expected to close — Associated Press (via Bangor Daily News), Mar 4, 2024
- Church Militant to shut down as defamation saga ignited by a radical traditionalist sect concludes — OSV News (via The Monitor, Diocese of Trenton), Mar 5, 2024
- Real Catholic TV service removes 'Catholic' from new name — Catholic News Agency, Jun 17, 2012
- Statement regarding recent comments made about Archbishop of Washington, D.C., Wilton D. Gregory — Archdiocese of Detroit
- Detroit archdiocese criticizes 'racist and derogatory language' from Church Militant — Catholic World Report
- Federal judge rules Baltimore cannot block Church Militant rally — Catholic World Report (CNA), Oct 15, 2021
- Appeals court agrees city can't ban Catholic group's rally — Associated Press (via The Washington Times), Nov 4, 2021
- Ferndale's Church Militant shuts down amid scandals, teases Texas move — Detroit Metro Times
- Ultra-orthodox Catholic propaganda outlet pushes anti-LGBT agenda — Southern Poverty Law Center (Hatewatch), Aug 17, 2018
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