I just saw this as it appeared on Father Z's blog (this links to the pdf of the archdiocesan statement). Not too long after that came Voris's response to this attempt to silence him.
There are a number of things to consider. While Michael Voris is the "front man" of RealCatholicTV.com, he is not the owner. The owner is Marc Brammer who resides within the Diocese of South Bend (IN). That to me means that the website is under the jurisdiction of Bishop Kevin Rhoades, not Archbishop Vigneron.
It's noteworthy that the Detroit press release was not signed by the archbishop but by the archdiocesan communication officer. Both Brammer and Voris have made overtures for meetings with the archdiocese but to date they have been ignored.
So why, oh why, is the Archdiocese of Detroit rattling its saber against RealCatholicTV?
Could it be that RealCatholicTV.com has been right-on and upfront in calling out the heresy and heterodoxy within the structures of the Church (most notably the USCCB)? Could it be because of the various CIA presentations that have outlined the origins and designs of the CCHD, the decline of Catholic higher education, etc? You know, there is a bunch of dissident priests within the Archdiocese of Detroit advocating things such as women's ordination, and touting the gobbly-goop spewed forrth by such "katholics" as Hans Kung, Joan Chittister, and the American Catholic Council. They call themselves "elephants in the living room". This bunch has their own website. Where's the press release from the Archdiocese of Detroit to corral this bunch? I don't see it either. And some bureaucrat in the Archdiocese of Detroit has the gall to set his/her target sites of RealCatholicTV?
Or...could it be that the Detroit chancery thinks Voris is hitting a little too close to home? Perhaps the video below, detailing how a Detroit parish drank the "happy holidays" politically-correct kool-aid, hit a little too close to home - especially since Voris supplied the parish's phone number to call. Might this be the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back" in the eyes of the archdiocesan bureaucrats? Click here if you can't see embedded video.
"While Michael Voris is the 'front man' of RealCatholicTV.com, he is not the owner. The owner is Marc Brammer who resides within the Diocese of South Bend (IN). That to me means that the website is under the jurisdiction of Bishop Kevin Rhoades, not Archbishop Vigneron."
ReplyDeleteThat seems to be part of the problem. The other part is while the website is hosted in the diocese of Ft. Wayne/South Bend, as I understand it the production for the videos is done in the Archdiocese of Detroit. As you have a link to Dr. Peter's excellent blog, he is of the opinion the AOD does have jurisdiction.
Real canon law in a virtual world. Heaven help us!