Church Militant (website)

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This article is about the American Catholic media organisation. For the British Anglican campaigning group, see League of the Church Militant.
Church Militant
Church Militant logo.png
Type of site
News and opinion
Traditional Catholic
OwnerSt. Michael's Media, Inc.
Founder(s)Michael Voris
RevenueUSD$2.8 million (December 2018)[1]
URLchurchmilitant.com
RegistrationOptional
Current statusActive

St. Michael's Media is a 501(c)(3) organization which operates in the State of Michigan under the officially-registered assumed name of Church Militant[2] via the website ChurchMilitant.com. Church Militant is a lay apostolate and news website founded by Michael Voris. It was known as Real Catholic TV until 2012, when the Archdiocese of Detroit notified Michael Voris and Real Catholic TV that "it does not regard them as being authorized to use the word 'Catholic' to identify or promote their public activities".[3]. Voris responded by changing the name to Church Militant.[4][5] While Church Militant makes use of a paywall and offers premium content to subscribers, the website's main feature is its free segment The Vortex, simulcast on YouTube and hosted by Voris. As of December 2018, 34 employees create videos and write content for Church Militant.[1]

Name[]

The site is named after the Catholic doctrinal distinctions in the universal Church among the Church Militant, Church Penitent, and Church Triumphant.[6]

Influence[]

Because of its wide viewership among conservative, orthodox Catholics, Church Militant exposés have been reported to cause deplatforming of liberal Catholics,[7] such as in the case of Dan Schutte, who was disinvited from a concert after a Vortex segment accused him of being an active homosexual who plays sappy music.[8] Also targeted has been Fr. James Martin,[9] whose book Building a Bridge proved controversial among Catholics, which Martin says[10] has led some venues to rescind their invitations to speaking engagements.[1]

Michael Sean Winters and other Catholic journalists accused Church Militant as playing a role in Tony Spence's "forced" resignation from Catholic News Service as its editor-in-chief, because of his opposition towards proposed bathroom bill legislation.[11][12]

Church Militant has been highly critical of the Society of Saint Pius X in articles on its website, particularly about the Society's handling of sexual abuse cases. In April and August 2020, Church published a number of accusations, including some older ones, on its website.[13][14] In response, the Society criticized Church Militant, writing that "it is well-known that Church Militant is not a serious journalistic enterprise but a repository of sensationalized stories, hit pieces, and videos featuring the opinions of its controversial founder, Michael Voris. Further, Church Militant has repeatedly used the SSPX’s name to generate web-clicks and revenue while hoping to stoke the fires of public controversy by baiting it into a war of words. Prudence dictates caution when dealing with a tabloid, and we will not be so baited".[15]

In June 2020, Church Militant faced backlash after it released a video in which Voris repeatedly accused Washington Archbishop Wilton Gregory of being a "accused homosexual," "Marxist" and an "African Queen". Church Militant released the video after Archbishop Gregory had criticized American president Donald Trump for clearing protestors so that he could have a photo op in front of a church. Gregory then called it "baffling and reprehensible" that Trump should visit the shrine of Pope John Paul II, which Trump did on the occasion of signing an international order to advance religious freedom.[16][17] Catholic scholar and Jesuit James Martin called Church Militant racist and homophobic, and a few days later, Detroit Archbishop Allen Vigneron publicly condemned the video; the archdiocese issued a disclaimer distancing itself from Church Militant.[18]

Coverage by other news sources[]

Samuel Freedman of The New York Times says, "To fully grasp what 'church militant' means in this highly politicized atmosphere, it helps to examine the broader movement and the role of a traditionalist Catholic website called — to no surprise — ChurchMilitant.com".[19] Freedman bases his article on an interview with Michael Voris and says that Church Militant's alleged "right-wing stances ... mesh with many of the positions espoused by Mr. Trump and his inner circle".[19] Freedman summarizes Voris' views by saying that "the website's positions were a righteous defense of patriotism and morality on behalf of people who believe those virtues have been attacked by liberals, secularists and global elites".[19]

Freedman says that Voris' online audience is cumulatively "about 1.5 million views a month"[19] and characterizes the apostolate's position as one that dismisses anthropogenic climate change, thinks the Black Lives Matter movement is akin to "the new fascism", and called Hillary Clinton "Killary," who was acting as "Satan's mop for wiping up the last remaining resistance to him in America."[19] It also quoted Voris' critique of social-welfare programs as a system where "half the people of America" do not pay taxes and "get things handed to them".[19] Church Militant responded to The Times article in a panel discussion in which the panel called Freedman's article a "hit piece" and "dishonest".[20]

On February 19, 2017, Robert Allen, in a piece for the Detroit Free Press[21] which was republished by USA Today,[22] wrote that Voris' studio in Ferndale was "the nerve center for a growing, religious group hoping the forces that elected President Donald Trump will tear down the wall between church and state". He called Voris' apostolate "a fringe group claiming to be Catholic but denounced by the church, [that] broadcasts pro-life, anti-gay, anti-feminist, Islam-fearing content on its website" and that "many of Church Militant's headlines are similar to those on Breitbart News, the far-right news organization that White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon previously ran."[22] Voris, according to the article, proclaimed that the election of Trump showed that the notion of mainstream media has been altered, "The Entire established order has been thrown up into the air. What we say now has some credence. We're allowed into the discussion."[22] Church Militant responded to the Detroit Free Press/USA Today article in a panel discussion in which it also addressed the Detroit archdiocese.[23]

On May 9, 2017 The Atlantic released a video on the operations at Church Militant, featuring interviews with Michael Voris and behind the scenes footage at their offices.[24]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Feuerherd, Peter (2018-12-11). "No 'church of nice' for Church Militant". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  2. ^ Allen, Robert (2017-02-21). "How a right-wing Ferndale fringe group is building a multimedia empire". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  3. ^ "Archdiocese of Detroit, Newsroom, Statements". 2011.
  4. ^ Freedman, Samuel G. (2016-12-30). "'Church Militant' Theology Is Put to New, and Politicized, Use". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  5. ^ Voris, Michael. "On Claims of 'Disobedience'". Church Militant. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  6. ^ "Mission". Church Militant. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  7. ^ Siemaszko, Corky (2018-11-18). "How the Catholic 'alt-right' aims to purge LGBTQ members from the church". NBC News. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  8. ^ Sanchez, Mary (March 19, 2018). ""Militant" anti-gay activist seeks to divide Catholic flock". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  9. ^ Gehring, John (2017-09-20). "The real scandal: What attacks on James Martin say about the Church in America". La Croix International. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  10. ^ Fr. Martin, James (2018-01-27). "Dear friends: I'm sorry to say that another lecture has been cancelled". Facebook. Retrieved 2019-02-26.
  11. ^ Coday, Dennis (March 14, 2016). "Catholic News Service editor asked to resign". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  12. ^ Winters, Michael Sean (March 19, 2016). "What to make of the forced resignation of Tony Spence". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  13. ^ Hadro, Matt. "Kansas investigating sexual abuse claims in breakaway Society of St. Pius X". Catholic News Agency.
  14. ^ "Representatives of Catholic church in St. Marys take issue with published report surrounding its role in KBI investigation". WIBW-TV. August 5, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  15. ^ "U.S. District Responds to Church Militant". Society of Saint Pius X. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  16. ^ Jenkins, Jack (June 11, 2020). "Conservative Catholic group denounced for calling black archbishop 'African Queen'". Religion News. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  17. ^ "Trump signs order on international religious freedom after JPII shrine visit". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  18. ^ "Detroit archdiocese criticizes 'racist and derogatory language' from Church Militant". The Catholic World Report. June 12, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Samuel G. Freedman (December 30, 2016). "'Church Militant' Theology Is Put to New, and Politicized, Use". New York Times.
  20. ^ "All the News That's Fit to Distort". churchmilitant.com. January 5, 2017.
  21. ^ Robert Allen (February 21, 2017). "How a right-wing Ferndale fringe group is building a multimedia empire". Detroit Free Press.
  22. ^ Jump up to: a b c Robert Allen (February 19, 2017). "Right-wing fringe group building multimedia empire near Detroit". USA Today.
  23. ^ "The Catholic Fringe". churchmilitant.com. February 20, 2017.
  24. ^ Lombroso, Daniel. "Church Militant: A right-wing Media Empire in-the-Making - Michael Voris, The Atlantic - The Atlantic". www.theatlantic.com. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
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