RealCatholicTV's Senior Executive Producer Michael Voris says he'll
seek to restore his nonprofit corporation's good standing with the state
of Michigan, while restricting the activities of a staff member who has
apologized for “inappropriate” online writings.
In an online video response to an August 17 CNA article,
the RealCatholicTV host – who is also the founder of the nonprofit St.
Michael's Media – said that he “did a poor job and allowed things to get
sloppy” at his nonprofit company after an administrative assistant left
in 2006.
“That is entirely my fault,” Voris stated.
He
went on to say that St. Michael's Media was “in the process of getting
our records up to date” in order to “file the appropriate back records”
to regain good standing with the State of Michigan as a 501(c)3
nonprofit corporation.
CNA reported on August 17 that Voris'
nonprofit company was, in the words of an official at the Department of
Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, “no longer registered and in good
standing with the State of Michigan” since 2009, after failing to file
necessary reports for two years.
Voris also said in his response
that RealCatholicTV's Simon Rafe would no longer be serving as an
apologist, program host, or public speaker.
CNA also reported
that Rafe was the author of writings that Voris later called “very
inappropriate,” including the “adult” role-playing game “Castle
Dracula.”
Rafe, also the author of stories that introduced
lesbian elements into a book set in the Star Wars universe, posted an
August 18 apology on his personal blog “for having scandalized the
faithful in any regard.”
“In speaking with Simon, I have no doubt
whatsoever about the sincerity of his apology nor his realization that
what he did was wrong both personally and professionally,” Voris said in
his video response.
He said that “for the foreseeable future,”
Rafe would handle only “technical and administrative duties” for both
St. Michael's Media and RealCatholicTV.
Voris said it was
“unfair” for CNA to have published its story during a “hectic time of
production” for RealCatholicTV. He also advised those “who consider
themselves our enemies” to “confront us like a man, not some sniveling
school girls who resort to tattle tales and smear campaigns.”
The
host of “The Vortex” noted that he did not count CNA among his
purported “enemies.”
He did, however, call attention to “various blogs
which make the claim that Catholic News Agency or its affiliate is 4
years behind on its own filings,” one of which he cited in the video's
official transcript.
That claim, however, rests upon a misreading
of state documents showing that CNA's nonprofit group, in some cases,
received notification that its annual reports were overdue.
The same
documents show that each year's reports were later filed with the state
in a matter of weeks or months.
In his Aug. 22 response, Voris
also continued to take issue with the organizers of World Youth Day
sending out a press release in which they responded to “confusion
regarding his affiliation with World Youth Day” by stating that he was
“not in any way recognized or approved by World Youth Day 2011.”
“In the mayhem and chaos of World Youth Day, official approval means absolutely next to nothing on the ground,” he observed.
Voris
said the official World Youth Day press release, which drew attention
to RealCatholicTV's lack of approval from its local bishop, was “beyond
ridiculous.”