End of ‘Church Militant’: Non-Profit Founded by Michael Voris to Cease Operations by End of April

After lies and falsehoods were trapped and exposed…

End of Church Militant:
Non-Profit Founded by Michael Voris to Cease Operations by End of April

The controversial conservative Novus Ordo media organization Church Militant (CM), along with its parent company Saint Michael’s Media (SMM), both based in Ferndale, Michigan, will cease operations by April 30, 2024.

This announcement was made today in a press release put out by Todd & Weld, LLC, a law firm representing Georges de Laire, a Novus Ordo priest who had sued the organization founded by Michael Voris for defamation:

On Feb. 29, CM published an apology to de Laire on its web site for a Jan. 17, 2019 article entitled “NH Vicar Changes Dogma Into Heresy”, which had been written anonymously by Marc Balestrieri. The apology was being issued by CM and SMM in particular “for their part in any distress or damage they may have caused Father de Laire”. Aside from theological controversy, the 2019 article contained unsubstantiated allegations directly impugning de Laire’s moral character.

The Very Rev. de Laire is the judicial vicar of the diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire. That is the same diocese, by the way, whose Novus Ordo bishop, Peter Libasci, granted an imprimatur (printing permission) to ‘Bp.’ Athanasius Schneider‘s recently-published CREDO alternative catechism. This would indicate it’s a more conservative Novus Ordo diocese.

In their apology, Church Militant and Saint Michael’s Media state:

SMM and Church Militant regret that the article was not properly vetted. It was later revealed that Mr. Balestrieri could not substantiate his claims regarding Father de Laire with any credible sources. Further, Mr. Balestrieri did not disclose to SMM his active involvement in a canonical dispute in which he was representing a client and Father de Laire was representing the Church at the time he wrote the article, which would have raised questions about the motive behind the anonymous allegations in the article prior to its publication.

The following blog has a lot of details regarding this latest news, as well as some of the background leading up to it:

• Defamed priest makes Church Militant pay; Catholic outrage outlet shutters doors (Damien Fisher)

In addition, the well-informed former CM employee Christine Harrington had a livestream on Feb. 29 with Kristine Christlieb, another ex-employee, on the future of the organization (note: this was before today’s big announcement):

What was once Michael Voris’ ‘Titanic’ of a ‘Catholic’ news org had long hit the iceberg and lowered the lifeboats, and now its sinking is imminent after they settled the above-mentioned defamation lawsuit by agreeing to pay $500,000 in damages to the Very Rev. de Laire. Not surprisingly, the CM online store is now offering a liquidation sale to clear the inventory.

Last November, it was announced that Michael Voris, until then the head of CM and long-time pencil-twirling host of The Vortex and other broadcast programs, had been fired. To be more correct, the board had “asked him to resign” for unspecified violations of the organization’s morality clause, and he complied:

• Bombshell: Michael Voris Fired from Church Militant after ‘Breaching Morality Clause’

Recently, the ultra-leftist Washington Post got wind of the scandal, and was only too happy to publish a report:

• He led an anti-gay Catholic site. Staffers say he sent them racy selfies.

Since his departure from CM, Voris has been out of the limelight. Christine Niles, another prominent anchor and writer at CM, had left the organization shortly before Voris did.

Michael Voris’ idea to have a Lenten retreat aboard a luxury cruise liner raised eyebrows early on…

For those who may not be too familiar with our work, the following links are to posts we published throughout the years critiquing the theology, journalism, and spin-doctoring of Michael Voris and/or Church Militant:

• Michael Voris: ‘We have viewed the Pope Francis Papacy as very Problematic from Day One’ (Reality Check)
• All the Men behind the Opus Dei Curtain: Randy Engel weighs in on the Drama surrounding Church Militant
• Michael Voris and the Homosexual Vortex
• Disgraceful! Michael Voris Slams True Popes to Excuse Francis
• Heresy in THE VORTEX: Will Michael Voris Retract?
• Francis, Voris, and the Washing of the Feet
• Poetic Justice: Francis embarrasses Michael Voris
• The Michael Voris Double Standard in the Vortex
• Michael Voris’ “BAM!” Vortex is a Sham
• Michael Voris on Francis’ “WWF Papacy”
• Michael Voris’ Selective Reporting in the Vortex
• Cruising Through Lent: Voris’ “Retreat at Sea”

A few more weeks, and Church Militant will be history. It prided itself on exposing scandals — real or imagined ones — and now has fallen due to some of its own.

Image source: composite with elements from Church Militant and Shutterstock (gengiskhan)
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