No one seems to be covering him lately.
I don't follow Church Militant, but occasionally I'd watch Mic'd Up on a local television station. I never check listings, but simply tune-in from time to time. Lately I've either missed his broadcast or the local independent station no longer airs it. I have not checked into Church Militant to see what's up, but in my search to see if the program was cancelled, I came up with some posts rather critical of Voris. Seriously critical of his 'sodomite' past. One blogger suggested he may have invented the story of threatened defamation by the Archdiocese of NY, not unlike the early 20th century evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson supposedly faked her own death to cover up an extramarital affair.
Are people distancing themselves from Voris? Is it the 'sodomite past' or his unproven allegations against the Archdiocese of NY the reason Voris' star is dimmed? If indeed he has fallen out of favor with his audience. It's an interesting development.
He may have caused his own downfall.
I didn't know CMTV was threatened with a lawsuit if they continued their investigative reports on the Archdiocese, until I came across this on Wiki:
Voris and CMTV have dropped their investigation of the New York Archdiocese after receiving a letter from Madison Avenue threatening to sue them out of existence if they continued reporting baseless stories/scandals. Since April of 2016, Church Militant has not reported on the New York Archdiocese nor slandered Timothy Cardinal Dolan publicly. - source
Unfounded allegations of a conspiracy against him may rightly be one factor in his diminishing popularity, but I think the 'sodomite' past may be part of it. At least one blogger I know of is questioning that story. If he was more gay than straight - well - you know what they say; 'once a homo always a homo'. Some people apparently want to know 'number and kind' when it comes to his sinful past - just how gay was he? Just when did he stop being gay? Did he quit cold turkey? I have no interest in those details, but apparently others do, and it may well be in the back of the minds of many.
The Church is very forgiving - but Catholic laity, not so much - especially when it comes to sins which cry to heaven for vengeance.
There's a columnist online who writes for the Catholic Herald, she just wrote a post wondering why the Pope keeps saying that the confessional is not a torture chamber. She and Fr. Rutler can't figure that out - it seems they just can't imagine why some Catholics would fear the confessional. It makes me wonder. Don't they know Catholics like that? Don't they read what Catholics say online? Don't they see the hurdles Catholic bloggers and websites create to discourage fallen away or distant Catholics seeking God? Don't they read how Catholics online will often remind former sinners of their sinful past? Confession not only absolves us of our sins, it removes guilt, and shame.
Yet Catholic laity just won't let penitents off that easy.
Refuge of sinners, pray for Gary, pray for us.
I guess I'm unforgiving, too, because after reading Maureen Mullarkey's piece on Voris I'll never read any thing by her again. I just don't trust her judgment. She's the "reverse world/Bizarro world" Dawn Eden. Maureen loves her sharp tongue and wit, not sure who/what else she loves...
ReplyDeleteFinally got a great partner in crime to walk the streets of PDX, a seriously intense Hispanic charismatic Catholic. We're like Starsky and Hutch, and yet have a lot in common--like naming our children the same names. Weird, huh?
Thanks again for mailing out Joseph Benedict Labre--we've already got a spot for him.
I hope you like the shrine for St. Benedict Joseph.
DeleteYeah - Mullarkey is pretty weird. She's an artist whose work I admire but she is very strange - and yes, she has a sharp tongue.
God bless you!
Michael Voris has devoted his "apostolate" to defaming Church hierarchy. He has told people to leave their local churches. He has especially gone after Cardinal Dolan, saying he is not fit for his office and basically calling him a heretic. He has made threatening comments about the Cardinal more than once. Voris has declared himself and those who agree with him as they only faithful Catholics left on the earth.
ReplyDeleteI am frankly amazed that Church hierarchy has let Voris go on for as long as he has. His own bishop forbids Voris from identifying his organization as Catholic. I guess they thought that was enough. But Voris has been smearing a New York archdiocesan priest of stealing and engaging in sexual perversion. The Archdicoese was investigating this matter before Voris ever got involved, and were unable to find any truth behind these facts, either of stealing money or anything else. But Voris got involved through some disgruntled parishioners and forced this priest out of his ministry. And Voris has continued on his quest to force out Cardinal Dolan as well.
Voris has been completely out of control, and now we know that while he has been accusing others, he has been hiding his own sins, afraid to let anyone know who he really is. Voris is a deeply disturbed individual and he needs help. He should not be engaged in public ministry of any kind until he has come to acceptance of who and what he is.
I don't know, Voris's fans seem to be defending him tooth and nail. I just think the rest of the people who might have been take him or leave him, might be turned off by his what I would call hypocrisy...(If your going to call people publicly out on their sins you sure as hell better own up to your won first) and the rest, who might have found him a humorous oddity...might think the whole thing is a bit depressing and sad....( despite one of his fans saying I "hate" him.(really???)..its depressing to see another human being so angry, delusional and conflicted...I would hope he finds peace however way he can...) so its not that much fun to watch him twirl his pencil , or throw around that fake sword anymore as he screeches about the gays taking over the Church...
ReplyDeleteIf his own fans turn their backs on him..well, its kind of like the Republican Party's creation of the Tea Partiers...you create the monster you deal with the monster. He stoked the "gays are the Biggest Bad ever and they infiltrate and destroy everything." thing and sometimes that stuff comes back to bite you. You don't like the Church of Nice, you get people who aren't very nice to you.
But again, he has a rabid fan base who need a little anger and hysterics in their day, so they won't be gone long.
I am a tea partier. I am not a monster.
DeleteMack, if you look at the Vortex since Voris came clean, you will notice that they don't have the "bite" that they had before. They are a lot of platitudes, and while he does still criticize the Church, he no longer seems like attack dog that he was. He seems very chastened. The fans that you describe are those who love the attack dog. No more attack dog, no more fans.
DeleteI think Voris will fade into the night.
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DeleteWow I thought Tea Partiers made fun of "overly sensitive," types...unless its them I guess. While you "Anonymous," know what I meant here it is.. the Republicans encouraged the Tea Party and pumped up the anger in the country (many of the issues I agree with) to win elections against the Dems in 2010, then after they stopped wining elections in 2014 and the party considered them too "radical" but too late, they weren't going away and the Tea Parties rebelled against the party and here we have Donald and the party has no clue on how to contain him. Same with Voris, he stoked people's fears, biases and anger, specifically against Church leaders who he implied, if not outright said, where "homosexual mafia"...(i.e. the worst sin on earth is to be a homo, it makes you become a Cardinal and support child molestation and flounce around the Vatican making fun of the Latin Mass and help fan the flames of the oft mentioned "smoke of Satan," in the Church. So you have an angry mob of villagers ready to string up the "homosexual clergy" and "lavender mafia" and then "Oopsy...forgot to tell you that I was/am one of them too...small lil ole thing, I am really embarrassed but you know, the big bad AC was going to OUT me..;.yes, yes, I have it on good authority..yes, yes, blackmail and outing...that's the ticket!" Well the angry mob may just turn and start chasing Voris with their flames and pitchforks.
DeleteCatholic in Brooklyn..I wouldn't count Voris out yet, he seems to be pretty good at reinvention..we shall see what he does with this. It seems his smearing of the AD and Dolan and blaming them for this is not working as well as he would have liked, but you never know. I have noticed more videos with that mean stoic woman with the dark hair instead of him, I have no ideal if that is how it usually is but..(would hurt anyone on CM to smile once in a while???)
DeleteI do agree the main thing is that the man needs some help and to find peace. I just hope that with that comes the realization of all the harm he has done to others through working out his own neurotic pscyho-sexual issues on a public platform.
Mack I can only say - Amen!
DeleteMack - When Gary does Mic'd Up he smiles and laughs - that Robert Redford persona really comes through. What?
Delete