Current:Home > InvestFounder of far-right Catholic site resigns over breach of its morality clause, group says -PrimeWealth Guides
Founder of far-right Catholic site resigns over breach of its morality clause, group says
View
Date:2025-04-16 05:18:06
The founder of a far-right, unofficial Catholic media group has resigned for an unspecified violation of the organization’s morality clause, the group said in a statement Tuesday.
Michael Voris stepped down as president of St. Michael’s Media and Church Militant, a Michigan-based enterprise established to address what Voris’ official biography calls “the serious erosion of the Catholic faith in the last 50 years.”
Voris did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
“Michael Voris has been asked to resign for breaching the Church Militant morality clause,” the organization said in its statement. “The board has accepted his resignation.” More details were not provided, and the board said it “has chosen not to disclose Michael’s private matters to the public” but asked for prayers for him as he is “focusing on his personal health.”
The Church Militant site and its sleek newscasts have drawn a loyal following with a mix of fiercely right-wing politics and radically conservative Catholicism in which many of America’s bishops are viewed with suspicion and disgust. It “is not recognized as a Church apostolate” and lacks authorization to promote itself as Catholic, according to a 2020 statement by the Archdiocese of Detroit, in whose territory it is based.
“As long as I’m physically able and mentally able to do this, this is my work,” said Voris in a 2022 interview with the AP. “I consider this a gift from God.”
Church Militant is often critical of Pope Francis, and has elevated extremist voices like those of Milo Yiannopoulos and echoed popular refrains from mainstream conservatives.
Current articles on the site feature a climate crisis denier, criticize efforts at LGBTQ+ inclusion and platform Bishop Joseph Strickland — recently ousted from his Texas diocese by Pope Francis after his increasingly severe criticisms of the pontiff.
In 2016, Voris acknowledged that when he was younger, he had for years been involved in “live-in relationships with homosexual men” and multiple other sexual relationships with men and women, actions he later abhorred as “extremely sinful.”
In 2021, Voris’ group was initially denied permission to rally outside a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore, with city officials saying it posed a threat to public safety in part because they said the site “promoted and exalted” the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Voris claimed the city wrongly blocked the event because it disapproved of the group’s message, and a federal appeals court overturned the city’s decision.
In 2017, a confidant of Pope Francis singled out Church Militant for criticism. The Rev. Antonio Spadaro said the site framed the 2016 presidential election as a “spiritual war” and Donald Trump’s ascent to the presidency as “a divine election.”
Voris said at the time he was shocked and claimed Spadaro was among those “using a leftist agenda to pursue leftist goals.”
___
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
veryGood! (23161)
Related
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- Sudan crisis drives growing exodus as warring generals said to agree in principle to 7-day truce
- Fans are saddened over the death of Technoblade, a popular Minecraft YouTuber
- The Fate of Bel-Air Revealed
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- Privacy advocates fear Google will be used to prosecute abortion seekers
- Who is Queen Camilla? All about King Charles' wife and Britain's new queen
- Twitter says it's testing an edit button — after years of clamoring from users
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- Jeremy Scott Steps Down as Moschino's Creative Director After a Decade
Ranking
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Rupert Murdoch Engaged to Ann Lesley Smith Less Than a Year After Jerry Hall Breakup
- How 'Splatoon' carved a welcoming niche in the brutal shooter game genre
- When it comes to data on your phone, deleting a text isn't the end of the story
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Andrew Tate gets banned from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok for violating their policies
- DALL-E is now available to all. NPR put it to work
- Fans are saddened over the death of Technoblade, a popular Minecraft YouTuber
Recommendation
Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
Proof Maralee Nichols and Tristan Thompson’s Son Theo Is Growing Up Fast
DALL-E is now available to all. NPR put it to work
The Brazilian Scientists Inventing An mRNA Vaccine — And Sharing The Recipe
Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
Gunmen storm school in Pakistan, kill 8 teachers in separate attacks
Social media firms are prepping for the midterms. Experts say it may not be enough
Human remains found inside two crocodiles believed to be missing fisherman